CHFL R7 review: Dunnstown hangs on, Ballan gets rare home victory

Stung by their first loss of the season at the hands of Bungaree in their previous outing, the Eagles finished all over Daylesford to run away with a 41-point victory at Daylesford on Saturday.

Trailing by 17 points going into the last quarter, Daylesford closed to within a goal, but that was as close as it would get.

Unlike in their past two outings when they found a way to win tight tussles, the Bulldogs were brushed aside by the reigning premier - the rampaging Eagles kicking the last seven goals of the day.

Daylesford made the better start, but midway through the second quarter the tide began to turn as Gordon laid the foundation to an 11-goal to three second half.

Payne said getting on top firstly on the inside of the midfield battle and then taking this to the outside had been the key, with veteran Tye Murphy having a big say in the change in fortunes.

Daylesford coach Hamish Jarrad said there had been signs in the past few weeks that a performance of this type was on the cards. "I could see it coming."

He said Gordon typified a strong team - making Daylesford pay for mistakes and an inability to put on scoreboard pressure when it had the opportunity.

Jarrad said the Bulldogs were also not helped by a lack of discipline late when Gordon had a run-on.

Despite the loss, Daylesford remains a clear second with six wins in seven rounds - a win behind Bungaree and game clear of Newlyn, Skipton and Gordon.

Bungaree and Newlyn remain the only unbeaten teams, despite having contrasting records.

Bungaree has seven wins and Newlyn four wins as well as two points from two games which have been abandoned.

Just as the Cats experienced against Buninyong in round one, Newlyn's match against Hepburn at Newlyn on Saturday was abandoned after an ankle injury to the Cats' Jackson Starcevich caused a delay of more than 30 minutes.

Play was halted midway through the first quarter with the scores 1.3 (9) apiece.

Gordon 0.3 3.7 7.12 14.13 (97)

Daylesford 2.3 5.4 5.7 8.8 (56)

GOALS - Gordon: J.Clampit 3, A.Toohey 2, E.Crackel 2, M.Griffiths 2, Z.Ryan 1, D.Anderson 1, B.Frazer 1, B.Veale 1, J.Graham 1; Daylesford: B.Jones 2, C.Molivas 2, A.Lambert 1, S.O'Brien 1, T.Lee 1, J.Schroder 1

BEST - Gordon: B.Veale, E.Crackel, J.Clampit, M.Gunnell, R.Clampit, M.Griffiths; Daylesford: A.Boyse, L.Johnston, A.Lambert, C.Molivas, J.Schroder, B.Jones

BUNGAREE was relatively untroubled in defeating Springbank by 53 points at Bungaree.

The Demons marginally had the better of each quarter, but there were better signs from the winless Tigers.

"We didn't get it all our way," Bungaree coach Ryan Waight said. He said he was pleased to get through with another win.

The Demons did not get out of the game unscathed though, losing ruckman Dallas Martin with a knee injury early in the game. Clay Bilney stepped in as cover in the ruck for the bulk of the day.

Springbank coach Andrew Challis was encouraged, saying there were plenty of positives to take out of the fixture.

"It was a better effort. We're looking forward to getting some key players back after the (long weekend) break."

He said in the meantime it was important to get as many games as possible into players who had not had a lot of exposure to senior football.

The Tigers will have no choice but to go even deeper down this path with Kieran Maher, Pat Glanford and Challis all pulling up with hamstring issues.

Bungaree 5.1 10.4 13.8 16.10 (106)

Springbank 2.1 4.3 6.6 7.11 (53)

GOALS - Bungaree: J.Butler 4, J.Mahar 3, J.Lukich 2, J.Sardo 1, J.Walter 1, J.Murphy 1, J.Richardson 1, D.Murphy 1, M.Comben 1; Springbank: Z.Bozanich 2, H.Segrave 1, C.Ronan 1, Z.Kennedy 1, K.Maher 1, J.Wilson-Keir 1

BEST - Bungaree: J.Richardson, C.Edwards, D.Murphy, T.Elliott, J.Butler, E.Forbes; Springbank: S.Donegan, K.Maher, Z.Bozanich, B.Haintz, T.Kelly, K.Kennedy

ROKEWOOD-Corindhap's punt to play key forward Caius Barrenger with a suspect knee paid dividends against Waubra at Waubra.

He kicked his second bag of seven goals for the season in the Grasshoppers' 69-point win.

As just their second victory, Rokewood-Corindhap coach Shaune Moloney said it had been important for the confidence of his players and the outlook for the rest of the season to get the premiership points after some near misses.

Barrenger's season looked to be over with an ACL injury, but it has been found he no longer has an anterior ligament in the troubled knee after previous damage.

Rokewood-Corindhap 4.1 9.5 13.5 17.10 (112)

Waubra 1.0 2.1 4.4 6.7 (43)

GOALS - Rokewood-Corindhap: C.Barrenger 7, M.Lockyer 3, M.Rivett 2, M.Riding 2, C.Parkin 1, J.Morgan 1, L.Philp 1; Waubra: H.Bond 2, J.Knights 1, D.Jenkins 1, A.Marro 1, T.Ford 1

BEST - Rokewood-Corindhap: M.Riding, C.Barrenger, R.Fisher, L.Philp, Z.Priddle; Waubra: T.Ford, M.Mcquillan, A.McPherson, M.Harrison, J.Knights, N.Moran

SKIPTON further staked its claim as a top four combination in the CHFL with its biggest all-time win over Learmonth.

The Emus out-classed Learmonth by 62 points with a powerful display at Skipton.

Their previous best margin over the Lakies was 43 points in 2021.

The fourth-placed Skipton kicked seven goals in the first quarter and again in the third and at one stage led by 79 points.

An improved four-goal output by Learmonth in the last term provided some damage control.

Emus coach Chris Banwell had no doubt the final margin would have been significantly bigger had it not been for some experimentation in the last term.

He told his players he had no hesitation in owning what allowed the door to be opened for Learmonth late in the game.

Skipton's new-look midfield took Learmonth to the cleaners, working off the ruck work of Pat Graham.

Jacob Maddock, who has gone from a wing to an inside role, was at his explosive best, while recruits Declan Phillips and Aden Nestor also owned the football in the clearance battle.

Nestor and another small Lakota Stranks also each contributed three goals to complement a constant threat from Rhys Monument (four goals) and Matt Cullinan.

Will Green and Cam Kimber did all they could around the ground for Learmonth.

Skipton 7.1 11.2 18.7 19.10 (124)

Learmonth 2.2 4.5 5.6 9.8 (62)

GOALS - Skipton: R.Monument 4, L.Stranks 3, A.Nestor 3, M.Cullinan 2, J.Draffin 2, T.Cullinan 1, B.Meek 1, J.Wilson 1, J.McClure 1, S.Romeril 1; Learmonth: D.Folkes 3, M.Rowe 2, D.Harberger 1, J.Dunne 1, J.Rich 1, M.Judd 1

BEST - Skipton: D.Phillips, J.Maddock, L.Stranks, L.Lamb, P.Graham, J.Wilson; Learmonth: W.Green, C.Kimber, J.Crilly, J.Rich, E.Prenc, M.McKenna

DUNNSTOWN had a badly needed four-point win over Buninyong at Buninyong.

Derick Micallef gave the Bombers the lead with a goal in the backend of the last quarter, but Mitch Henderson replied and the Towners held on.

Their third win has them within half a game of the top eight. "It wasn't pretty, but it was the win we had to have," Dunnstown joint coach Glenn Wilkins said.

He said it was a battle of two defences, as indicated by the scoreline.

Wilkins said Dunnstown was fortunate to be in front on the siren in a match that could have gone either way.

Dunnstown 3.1 5.3 7.6 9.8 (62)

Buninyong 1.2 6.4 7.7 8.10 (58)

GOALS - Dunnstown: T.Wardell 3, B.Whittaker 2, F.Stevenson 2, W.Henderson 1, M.Tuddenham 1; Buninyong: J.Ottavi 3, A.Domic 2, J.Rodgers 1, N.Shell 1, D.Micallef 1

BEST - Dunnstown: M.Tuddenham, C.Tangey, J.Leonard, R.Walsh, B.Murphy, J.Crone; Buninyong: J.Coxall, M.Warner, A.Ebery, A.Domic, L.Burbidge, H.Donald

BALLAN has had its first win at home since the last round in 2019.

With no football in 2020 and then not being able to play at the Ballan Recreation Reserve in 2022 and 2023, the Blues have lacked opportunities.

This was one they did not want to waste - downing Clunes by 46 points.

Ballan climbs to 12th as one of five teams on two wins after seven rounds.

Ballan coach Harley Bongart said the Blues had taken a while to "click" and it had been pleasing to produce a more attacking brand.

Ballan 3.4 7.9 11.11 14.12 (96)

Clunes 0.5 1.8 2.11 6.14 (50)

GOALS - Ballan: C.Micallef 4, H.Bongart 3, J.Kurzman 2, J.Fuller 2, M.Musgrove 1, A.Mullane 1; Clunes: C.Thar 2, T.Nunn 1, A.Bowd 1, L.Saligari 1, J.Robertson 1

BEST - Ballan: B.Colley, H.Bongart, D.Cooper, K.Heafield, R.Bongart, L.Conlan; Clunes: C.Thar, R.Thompson, M.Kasparian, M.Ryan

CARNGHAM-LINTON overran Creswick in the second half to salute by 69 points at Creswick.

The Saints led by 14 points at half-time after struggling with the Wickers' defensive pressure, but then opened up.

Carngham-Linton 4.2 9.5 13.6 21.8 (134)

Creswick 3.2 7.3 8.5 10.5 (65)

GOALS - Carngham-Linton: N.O'Brien 4, B.Benson 3, T.Scoble 3, J.Faull 2, J.Foley 2, D.O'Brien 2, S.Hopper 1, H.Palmer 1, H.Butler 1, T.Clark 1, M.Knight 1; Creswick: L.Scheele 2, T.Randall 2, J.Anagnostou 1, L.Ryan 1, A.Lovett 1, J.Thomas 1

BEST - Carngham-Linton: K.Raven, S.Hopper, C.Lloyd, B.Benson, T.Scoble, L.Hodgson; Creswick: B.Plover, E.Henderson, B.Sternberg, C.Hepworth, M.Hottes, B.Dolan