Opportunity beckons in Mininera

Ararat Eagles travel to Great Western in Mininera and District Football League on Saturday with both teams still searching for their first win of the season.

Last week Great Western went down to Woorndoo-mortlake to the tune of eight goals.

Although the Lions were down at quarter time, they managed to outscore the Tigers in the second quarter.

However, it was to no avail as Woorndoo-mortlake put on nine goals to Great Western’s four in the second half. For the second week in a row Great Western’s backline managed to apply plenty of pressure, forcing its opponents to kick 27 and 26 points respectively.

Samuel Cocks was again one of the better players for the Lions, booting seven goals, while Rayne Salmon and Hamish Jennings were also among the best.

Ararat Eagles have had a tough start to their season, playing Tatyoon and most recently Moyston-willaura – two of last year’s finalists – in the opening two rounds.

Moyston-willaura led the Eagles at every change, although in another solid defensive effort, Ararat’s pressure saw the Pumas kick 29 points out of their 45 scoring shots.

Zachary Jenkins was again named in the best for the Eagles and was joined by Tulloch Maxwell and Oakley Taylor.

At the other end of the scale, both Penshurst and Lismore-derrinallum have won their opening rounds with Lismore-derrinallum winning both games by more than 100 points.

The Demons’ most recent victory was over Glenthompson-dunkeld. Lismore-derrinallum led right from the start, putting on a six-goal-to-one first quarter. Michael Lockyer was again on song in front of goal, kicking seven, with Bradley Lockyer and Ryan Elliot doing their bit with six and three respectively.

However, it was Jack Pitts who did most of the heavy lifting and named best, with Jed Millard also being a big part of the action.

Penshurst’s most recent win was a bit closer with their inaccuracy in front of goal resulting in a margin of just two points over Hawkesdalemacarthur.

Hawkesdale-macarthur led up until half time and it wasn’t until the third quarter when Penshurst made its move, going into three-quarter time four points up. A fight right to the end won the team victory.

Other games see Glenthompsondunkeld travel to Tatyoon to take on the Hawks, Wickliffe-lake Bolac taking on Moyston-willaura, Caramut hosting Woorndoo-mortlake and Hawkesdale-macarthur playing SMW Rovers.