Blighty wins in a thriller

Blighty Football Club has made a claim as a Picola League flag contender after a gutsy five point away win over Strathmerton on Saturday.

After inaccurate kicking for goal looked like it would cost the Redeyes, the visitors found themselves down by two goals in the final term.

But it was late goals from onballer Jed Brain and key forward Lenny Clarke (four goals for the match) that put Blighty in front before the siren sounded to keep the Redeyes undefeated with three wins in the Picola League’s north-west division.

In wet conditions Blighty assistant coach Jack Tyndall played a key role off half-back to be named the best and Matt O’Connor was solid in defence.

Brian and Tom Druitt caused headaches for Strathmerton’s midfield with their hard running while ruckman Brock Gray was among the best.

Strathmerton’s Matt Shannon was solid all over the ground with recruit Mikal Bloom continuing his good form in the middle.

In a fiery match, Bulldogs onballer Tyron Hill was red carded and reported for allegedly striking Blighty co-captain Kyel Bain in the third term. Hill will face the tribunal tomorrow night.

Final score, Blighty 10.13 (73) to Strathmerton 11.2 (68).

Another player that impressed Tyndall on the day was Brad Haines, who played his first senior game for the Redeyes since 2013.

‘‘Hainesy was brought in because of his size and physicality and he brought that on Saturday,’’ Tyndall said.

‘‘He played on a forward flank and he laid a massive bump in the third term that sparked us all up.

‘‘We were forced to play with three blokes on the bench with Jarrod Andrews getting a corky in the twos.

‘‘To put on a performance like we did while still missing about five blokes who would slot into the seniors is what impresses me most.’’

The Redeyes were still without co-captain Judd Barnes and key talls Drew and Jake Plattfuss, while Gilbert McKinnon and Brett Macdonald were also late outs.

It was defence that won the day for the Redeyes in Tyndall’s eye, pointing out Matt O’Connor’s crucial role down back.

‘‘He (O’Connor) was at full back on (Adrian) Crestani early and kept him relatively quiet,’’ he said.

‘‘They moved Matt O’Kane forward so Cody (Jordan) played deep which brought Matt further up the field.

‘‘Brayden Hall, Jack Bunnett and myself were also down back and the communication back there is probably what’s helping us play so well.

‘‘We were all a lot more disciplined which is one thing we addressed during the week.

‘‘We flew the flag but we didn’t go overboard.’’

Strathmerton coach Tim Bramich said his side was simply outplayed. ‘‘We didn’t deserve to win,’’ Bramich said. ‘‘We got a six or seven goal lead in the second and they pegged it back.

‘‘They kept us in the game by missing in front of goal but Blighty were definitely the better side on the day.’’

In the reserves Blighty also struggled with inaccuracy, with the visitors going down by 27 points to the Dogs.

The Redeyes had the same number of scoring shots as the Dogs by three quartertime but still found themselves 20 points behind.

The home side kept the visitors at bay for the remainder of the match to hand Blighty their third loss.

Final score, Strathmerton 10.9 Blighty 5.12 (42).

Blighty defender Aaron Litchfield was once again among the Redeyes best with onballers Bob Jacobsen and Ben Littmann also starring.

Marcus Jackson put forward a strong case for a senior return with Bret Leech and Matt Barker also solid contributors for the Redeyes.

Blighty will have their first home game of the year when they host Berrigan on Saturday. (69) to