Big winnng margins dominate reserves
Big margins continue to dominate the talking points in the EDFL reserves competition. Nilma Darnum suffered an astonishing 169-point loss to Longwarry on Saturday. The Bombers managed just one solitary behind for the entirety of the match, which came in the first term.
The Crows kicked five goals in the first term, 11 goals in the second term, another four in the third and capped the day off with another six majors in the fourth term.
The Crows’ Samuel Pratt found the target not once or twice but five times with Matthew Hobson not far behind. In all there were 15 goal kickers for Longwarry.
Brody Hamilton was best on ground for Longwarry. He was backed up by Braydon Monroe, Bailey Stephens, Samuel Pratt, Ryan Wouters and Jai Jose. For Nilma Darnum it was Liam Van Eyk who was named best on ground with Robert Campbell, Luke Galley, Jack Sugars and Shannon Lamb also making important contributions.
Poowong were another team to notch up a big win. They emerged victorious over Yarragon, winning 5.0-30 to 19.8-122. Yarragon kicked a goal in the first term but could not back it up until the third quarter when the Panthers kicked another, bringing their tally to 12 points. They finished the day on 20 points, after a three-goal effort in the final term.
But the day belonged to Poowong who kicked five goals in the first, another six in the second, four after the main break and four in the final term to finish the day with 19 goals and eight behinds, bringing their final tally to 19.8-122 – 92 points in front of their hosts. Josh McNally was best on ground for the Magpies. Bradley Curtain, Mitchell Cochrane, Mitch Whiting, Angelo Raso and Matthew Loughridge also received honourable mentions.
Nyora’s match-up with Catani was another one-sided affair. The Blues began the day with just three behinds while the Saints kicked four majors to open the game. The halftime margin was 37 points, which was only extended in the second half with Nyora kicking four goals in third to bring the deficit to 63 points.
The Saints blew past the 100-point mark in the final term and finished on 15.11-101. Catani ended the day with an additional goal – not near enough to overcome their hosts – and a final tally of 2.5-17.
There was another big-margin game on the weekend – the clash between Neerim Neerim South and Ellinbank. The Eagles prevailed by 84 points – 1.5-11 to 15.5-95. The Cats were kept scoreless in the first term but found the scoreboard in the second with one goal and one behind. The Eagles had begun the day with five goal and added another three goals by halftime, bringing the margin to 45 points at the main break. The gulf only widened as the game went on.
Neerim Neerim South added three behinds to their side of the scoreboard in the third term and another behind in the final term. They ended the day on 1.5-11. Ellinbank kicked four more goals in the second term and another three in the final quarter, ending the day with winners’ grins on 15.5-95.
Ryan Carpenter was best on ground for the Eagles. He was backed up by the efforts of Michael Pandolfo, Tony Wright, Samuel Barwick, Jacob Walker and James Scammell. Matthew Kelliher was Neerim Neerim South's best man. Steven Heath, Justin Lockett, Ben Lockett, Adam White and Brenton Cowell also made important contributions.
The closest game of the round was Buln Buln and Lang Lang's game at Buln Buln. The Lyrebirds had a rough start, putting just a solitary behind on the board in the first term. Lang Lang meanwhile had opened the game with two majors, adding to that in the second quarter with two goals and a behind.
Buln Buln finally hit a major score in that second term and they entered the main break with a 12 point lead. Buln Buln remained scoreless in the third term and Lang Lang added two majors to their tally. They added another major in the final term, bringing their scoreline to 7.8-50 at the end of the day. Buln Buln kicked an additional six goals in the final term in a frantic effort, but in the end could not make up the difference and finished the day on 6.4-40.
Poowong jump two places after their win over Yarragon, going from sixth to fourth on the ladder. Neerim Neerim South drop from fifth to sixth. The top three remain unchanged -Ellinbank at number one, Longwarry at number two and Lang Lang in third place. Buln Buln drop from fourth to fifth. The bottom four remain unchanged with Nyora keeping their seventh place on the ladder followed by Yarragon, Catani and Nilma Darnum respectively.