Buln on the board
Buln Buln v Catani
Buln Buln are on the board in 2021 after a massive fourth quarter performance propelled them past Catani 12.15 (87) to 6.4 (40).
It wasn’t smooth sailing early for the side, with Catani again like the weeks before having a bright start, leading by 15 points at the first break, leaving Buln coach Michael Kreun thinking ‘here we go again’.
He gave his side a rev up at quarter time and they responded, with Jake Herbel back across the halfback line cutting off anything aerial that came in from Catani, while Brent Waddell returned to the midfield to give them some toughness around the contest.
They bridged the gap in the second term going into the rooms down just five points, rueing some missed opportunities in the quarter, one that both sides struggled to gain ascendancy.
Matt Gray was dominant in the ruck again and this week the Lyrebirds were able to take control in the middle after halftime, with Catani losing ruckman Jackson Caddy to Longwarry during the week, allowing Gray to roam the ground with relative ease.
Known as the premiership quarter, the third term was just that for Buln and one that could kick start their season. They managed to break away thanks to some great work from Sam Langford and Adam Rakip up forward, skipping into the lead with a four goal to one term.
If they kicked straight, the game might have been out of reach at three quarter time, but it was Sam Langford who made sure the Lyrebirds would sing the song. He fired up forward with four goals to push the margin out when the final siren went, Buln winning by 47 points.
Coach Michael Kreun, who played his first game for the club, said he was extremely happy with how his side responded at quarter time.
“We played ourselves back into the game after that, Waddell was great in the middle and Reece Campbell provided some great pressure and lifted us in the middle as well.
“We had to make a call to play man on man or guard space, they played us well in that first half and made us move, so we decided to go man on man and we were better after that,” Kruen said.
He praised the work of Jake Herbel across halfback, the defender having to move into the midfield in the first few weeks but was back home in the backline on Saturday and it showed.
“He was great, he cut everything off in the air and everyone stood taller when he was around, and he made everyone else more confident.
“It was a massive win for us. I said it was a must win game going into the match against Longwarry, we have a bit of confidence in our system now. It was old school Buln footy, with run and carry. I gave them licence to do it, we had nothing to lose,” Kreun said.
Herbel was best on ground for the Lyrebirds, with Samuel Langford, Matthew Gray, Reece Campbell, Nathan Tutton and Adam Rakip all featuring in Buln’s best.
Langford booted four goals in the victory and Rakip three to help lead the side in what was a confidence boosting win.
For Catani, who again began well and faded late, they were pushed along by coach Dan Barrand in a brilliant performance, while Mitchell Latimer, Michael Ralph, Brett Williams, Brad Adams and James Williams were all strong featuring players for the Blues, with Mitch Latimer kicking two to be the only multiple goal kicker for Catani.
Buln Buln will take confidence into the game against Longwarry on Saturday, with Catani getting the week off with the bye.