Stars shine bright over Giants
Garfield proved far too strong for an undermanned KorumburraBena outfit in round two of West Gippsland football, running out easy winners 15-12 (102) to 1-8 (14).
The clinical win put the Stars in a strong position as they head into the Easter break, while the Giants will have to build following a 0-2 start.
With Korumburra-Bena missing several key players due to a wedding, the Stars coped well with some early physical attention and eventually began toying with the Giants on the way to a big win.
The ball spent a vast amount of time inside the Stars’ forward 50, with Daniel Johnson looking dangerous from the outset.
Despite some close attention from Sam Edwards, Johnson was able to hit the scoreboard early, while Harley Lacunes continued to bring the ball to ground to create opportunities for the Stars’ small forwards.
Frustrations began to increase for Johnson, who was eventually yellow carded late in the first term after being caught retaliating to some close checking.
The Stars went into the second term with a 28-point lead, a lead they were able to build on despite being a man down.
Led by Adam Macgibbon, the Stars defence didn’t give an inch as the Giants could only muster a solitary behind to round out the first half.
The Stars added a further five goals for the term, and began toying with the Giants as they headed into the long break with a 58-point advantage.
A torrid third term ensued as Jake McMillan scored the first and only major of the day for the Giants, while the Stars edged ahead with two goals of their own to ensure the match was well and truly in their keeping.
A further four goals in the final term put the exclamation mark on a big win for the Stars.
Johnson finished with four majors in a best afield effort despite spending a 15 minute block on the bench.
The scoring was shared for the Stars, with Dean Johnson, Darcy Payne and Jarryd Drew each chipping in with two goals.
Other better players for the Stars were Ned Marsh, Saxon Watson and Daniel Helmore.
Luke Van Rooye, Cameron Trewin, Scott Braithwaite, Martin Snooks, Ben Fitzpatrick and John Amaya battled against the odds for the Giants.
The Stars made it a clean sweep in the football, recording victories in the other grades.
Goon take points
Nar Nar Goon pulled away after a first half arm wrestle to record a comfortable win in front of a big crowd at Bunyip.
With Cora Lynn and Koo wee rup sitting out the first half of the split round, players and fans watched on with interest as Goon coach Kris Fletcher engineered another victory over his former side, 12-9 (81) to 5-3 (33).
The first half proved to be a real arm wrestle. Each side could only manage the one major in a torrid first term, the Goon heading into the first change by the barest of margins.
The second quarter wasn’t much more inspiring, the Goon heading to the main break leading 4-2 to 3-1.
The Bulldogs were forced to call on a manual scoreboard operator at the social rooms end of the ground with the electronic scoreboard failing.
The day didn’t get much better for the Bunyip faithful, as the Bulldogs could only manage one goal in each the third and final quarters.
The Goon opened the game up in the third term, adding four goals to head into the final term a comfortable 26-point advantage. A further four goals in the final term pushed the margin out to 48-points.
Zac Stewart was the Goon’s best, kicking four goals in an effort worthy of best afield honours. Kris Fowler, Matthew Stevens , Brent Hughes and Troy Clacy also helped the Goon improve their record to 1-1.
Midfielders Jeb McLeod and Michael Whyte led the way for Bunyip along with Ben Jostlear, coach Brad Walker, Jason Williams and Joel Gibson.
The Goon were also too strong in the Reserves, but went down in the junior grades. The Bulldogs won a tightly contested Thirds match by 14-points and ran out big 150-point winners in the Fourths.