Goon move closer to finals berth
Nar Nar Goon recorded victory over a determined Buln Buln at Station St to move closer to a finals berth but were made to work hard for the win, only pulling away in the final term to score 11-12 (78) to 6-5 (41).
Much of the back story throughout the week had been the Goon’s rumoured request to have the match moved, with several Goon players and officials keeping an eye on the surface through the week.
Last week’s match between Buln Buln and Koo wee rup finished in heavy going, with a YouTube video emerging which had become prominent on television news services.
Buln Buln officials remained steadfast in having the match played at Station St and to their credit were able to present the surface in reasonable condition.
A determined home side kicked out to a narrow eight-point lead at quarter time and threatened to brew an upset which would have reignited a slim hope of making finals for Warragul Industrials.
The Goon kicked three goals to the Lyrebirds’ one behind in the second term to head into the main break with a narrow lead.
While Buln Buln were unable to score in the third term, the Goon were slightly wasteful in returning 1-6 which kept the Lyrebirds in the hunt heading into the final term.
With the result important for Nar Nar Goon’s bid to secure a finals berth, the Goon kicked away in the final term with four goals to two to run out comfortable victor.
The result makes it difficult for the Goon to be displaced, who are six points ahead of Dusties with a game in hand.
The Goon would have to take an almighty fall to miss out. Only losing all three of its remaining home and away matches would give Dusties a sniff. Two of those matches are against lower ranked teams who will miss finals.
Luke McConnell kicked five goals as the Goon moved closer to securing a finals berth, while Bailey Beck chipped in with three majors and was best on ground.
They were supported by Nicholas Henwood, Jackson Fromhold, Tyler Joosten and Trent Noy.
Buln Buln were best served by Josh O’Brien, Dylan Farrell, Jake Herbel, Simon Dawson, Mitch Nobelius and Jack Martyn.
Goon win big
Nar Nar Goon recorded a big win in the Reserves, 21-12 (138) to 5-3 (33).
The Goon kicked five goals to one in the first quarter, and were never headed by a Buln Buln side that were valiant in playing out the match despite not having players on the bench to call upon.
Ben Scanlon kicked seven goals, while Wil Evans and Joseph Sweeney chipped in with four and three goals respectively.
Other better players for the Goon were Zach Scanlon, Travis Simpkin, Seamus Scanlon, Cody Andrews and Xavier Manson.
Paul Willis, Brad Fusinato, Brandon Cooper, Noah Jarred, Jarrod Castle and Jeremy Jagoe battled hard for Buln Buln.
Lyrebirds score
Buln Buln scored a comfortable victory in the under 18s.
The Lyrebirds gradually outworked their opponents throughout to win 8-9 (57) to 4-4 (28) despite having a player sent off for engaging in a melee during the third term.
Toby Bransgrove kicked three goals, while Jake Pierrehumbert, Jediah Melbourne, Sean Symes, Leyton Willis, Charlie Park and Brandon Allen were also instrumental in setting up the win.
Michael Van Roy, Sam Collins, Luke Dortmans, Dom Pullen, Eamon Trigg and Blake Rayner were the better players for the Goon.
Goon too strong
Nar Nar Goon restricted Buln Buln to just three behinds to set up a comfortable win in the under 16s, 8-14 (62) to 0-3 (3).
Cooper Hampton kicked three goals, while other prominent players were Joel Motta, Jake Tabone, Charles Height and Jesse BellJanke.
Max Phillips, Thomas Bibby, Taijyn Lacy, Haydn Burke, Jarrod Thomas and Chris Wellings led the way for Buln Buln.