Pekin leads team to solid victory
Horsham District’s interleague football side arrested its slide down the AFL Victoria Community Championships rankings with a 34-point win against Loddon Valley Football Netball League on Saturday.
Playing in excellent conditions at a sunny Horsham City Oval, the District league overcame some errant kicking at goal to bury its opponent in the final quarter, winning 18.17 (125) to 14.7 (91).
Early in the game it looked as if Horsham District would cruise to victory with ease.
Midfielders Eric Guthrie and Robbie Miller feasted on clearances from the centre circle ruck work of Jak Ryan, pumping the ball forward quickly to find Matt Healy and interleague coach Nick Pekin isolated against their direct opponents.
Healy proved too physically imposing and Pekin too skillful and elusive in one-on-one situations, booting five goals between them for the term from an array of impressive contested marks.
Forward Simon Close put an exclamation point on the first quarter with a high-flying mark and conversion from just outside the goal square, giving the home side a 43-18 lead at the first break.
The only sour notes in the first quarter were a wasteful 6.7 in front of goals and a high tackle that left Kalkee youngster Jasper Gunn stunned on the ground for several minutes.
Gunn was able to walk off the field under his own power after the hit but took no further part in the game as a precaution.
While Horsham District had dominated the first quarter, Loddon Valley fought back hard in the second.
Key forward Ryan Wellington made life miserable for the likes of Horsham District defenders Lachie Middleton and Liam Jakobi, booting four goals for the quarter in a superb individual effort.
Loddon Valley midfielder Nick Waterson helped turn the tide for his team, which, unlike the home side, kicked truly in front of goals to level the scores at 62 apiece at the main break.
Pekin admitted he gave his charges a ‘pull through’ in the rooms after a disappointing second quarter.
The team responded by grinding its way back on top in a see-sawing third term, registering 11 scoring shots to three despite continued inaccuracy.
Scott Carey’s run on the wing was vital, defender Matt Butler helped negate Wellington’s influence and Simon Hobbs provided plenty of rebound off half-back.
A goal to Loddon Valley’s Bailey George trimmed the margin to 13 points halfway through the final quarter, but a steadier from Guthrie minutes later helped put the result beyond doubt.
Good things happened for the Horsham District side whenever Guthrie had the ball in his hands and he was a fitting recipient of the best on ground medal, with Pekin, five goals, not far behind.
Pekin said he was pleased by the willingness of his team to continue to work hard.
“Full credit to the guys, we kept boring in,” he said.
“To finish off the way we did, considering the weather conditions – no excuses, but it was a hot day – was excellent.”
Horsham District will now rise in the interleague rankings after slipping to 29th out of 32 teams before Saturday’s result.
Pekin said the talent displayed during the game showed both leagues would not be ranked lowly for long.
“To produce a quality game like that, for where both sides were ranked, was unbelieveable,” he said.
“Spectators for both sides would be walking away thinking, ‘that was a great game’.”
Earlier in the day a Horsham District under-18 side made short work of Loddon Valley’s representative team with an 18.8 (116) to 4.1 (25) win.
Horsham piled on 10 goals to one in the first half, with Henry Mackley, six goals, winning best afield honours.
Round six
When local competition resumes on Saturday, Pekin’s Harrow-balmoral side will seek to defend top spot against Scott Carey’s Swifts.
The Roos and Baggies are two of the form teams of the competition, evidenced by the fact they had five and four interleague representatives, respectively.
Swifts will be hard-pressed to keep up with the reigning premier on its home turf at Balmoral, but should look at the match as a test of their top-three credentials.
Kalkee will host Jeparit-rainbow in a match pitting two middle-of-the-pack teams against each other.
The Kees will be sweating on the availability of Jasper Gunn after his head knock at the weekend, but can solidify a position in the top six with a win.
Noradjuha-quantong is seeking its first points since round one against winless Pimpinio, Laharum will travel to take on Rupanyup and Taylors Lake will host Natimuk United in other matches.