Dusties defeat dogged Dalyston
The Dusties are back in the top five, Cora Lynn continued their surge back up the ladder and Nar Nar Goon's unbeaten streak is over after a big round in the West Gippsland Football Competition.
Dalyson vs Warragul Industrials
Warragul Industrials have navigated a serious scare from Dalyston as they used a powerful final term to escape with the four points.
The Dusties were certainly made to work for the win, the lowly Magpies seriously pushing them for most of the game before Warragul found another gear to win 15.12 (102) to 10.6 (66).
Mason McGarrity was his normal reliable self up forward, booting four goals, while at the other end Dalyston finally found a consistent scoring target thanks to Mason Storr, who kicked four of his own.
On paper this game seemed like it should have been a simple win for the Dusties given the recent history of their opponents, but Dalyston were obviously intent on making things much more difficult than anticipated.
Neither side was able to break away from the other for much of it. The Magpies led by four at quarter time, before the Dusties struck back with a five goal to three second term to take a seven-point break into half time.
Where in other games Dalyston would have wilted at this point, the home side clearly smelled a potential upset, kicking three goals to two in the third term to trail by just three points at the final change of ends.
In the end though, as good sides do, Warragul stepped up when challenged, their contested ball prowess shining through in the last quarter as they kicked 6.4 to 1.1 to run away with the match.
Kyle Staples and Anthony Bruhn did a power of work for the Dusties, particularly in their late run, as they overpowered the Magpies and reclaimed their spot in the top five.
The Dusties will now meet Koo wee rup at home which will provide a good opportunity to both put some distance between them and the Demons on the ladder and tighten their grip on fifth position.
The Dusties' top players were Kyle Staples, Anthony Bruhn, Mason McGarrity, Matthew Herbert, Kyle Beveridge and Michael Ablett.
Mason Storr, Michael Marotta, Curtis Murfett, Michael Harris, Louis Armstrong and Hayden Wallis were the better players for Dalyston.
Nar Nar Goon vs Phillip Island
Nar Nar Goon have lost their first game of the season, becoming the latest team to succumb to the might of Phillip Island.
The Goon were hardly embarrassed in their performance but were jumped from the first bounce and just couldn't reel the margin in as they went down 10.8 (68) to 15.11 (101).
It was the usual suspects up forward for Nar Nar Goon, with Dermott Yawney kicking four while Mitchell Homfray and Troy McDermott kicked two each, while Aidan Pipicelli put in a strong performance at half forward.
Ultimately though, Phillip Island had more winners around the ground. Cameron Pedersen and Zak Vernon kicked three each, while Jack Taylor starred in the backline to help blunt the Nar Nar Goon forward line.
A five goal to one first term for the Bulldogs saw them jump to an early lead, before increasing it in the second term to lead by 36 points at half time.
Belief wasn't waning for the Goon though, as they put on four goals to two in the third quarter to make the margin at least somewhat gettable going into the home stretch.
This was thanks to a lift from the Nar Nar Goon midfield, whose tackling intensity saw them lock the ball in their forward half for large stretches.
Despite this, a margin that imposing was always going to be a tough ask against a side like Phillip Island, who did exactly what a great side does and turned the game into a grind to walk away with their eighth win in as many games.
The win sees them and Tooradin-Dalmore as the only remaining undefeated teams in the competition, with a meeting between said sides next week looming as the game of the season so far.
Nar Nar Goon meanwhile still sit comfortably in third spot, and will look to bounce back next week against Korumburra-Bena.
The Goon's better players were Aidan Pipicelli, Mitchell Homfray, Jake Smith, Tex Marsham, Bradley Homfray and Jeconiah Peni.
Best on for Phillip Island were Daniel Pearce, Cameron Pedersen, Jack Taylor, Max Blake, Billy Taylor and Alexander Officer.
Bunyip vs Tooradin-Dalmore
Tooradin-Dalmore have maintained their grip on top spot after easily accounting for Bunyip.
A powerful six goal to none second quarter set up the victory, as the Seagulls used their impressive forward line depth to overwhelm the Bunyip defence.
The Seagulls boasted 10 individual goalkickers for the day as they romped their way to the 15.9 (99) to 6.5 (41) win.
Brad Butler kicked three goals to top score for the visitors, while for Bunyip Jeb McLeod and Duncan Proud both kicked two.
It was a relatively strong start for the home team, who took it right up to the ladder leaders in the first term to lead by a point going into quarter time.
However, the Bulldogs were blown away in the second term as they were unable to contain the multitude of marking targets the Seagulls enjoy.
It was a better effort after half time from Bunyip, but their own scoring quickly dried up as they managed just one goal in the third term and three in the last to never truly challenge.
The loss sees Bunyip drop out of the top five, once again trading spots with the Warragul Industrials, who now appear their main rivals for a finals position.
The Bulldogs will now turn their attention to a very winnable match next week against Kilcunda Bass as they look to bounce back.
Best on for Bunyip were Jeb McLeod, Nathan Allen, Daniel Helmore, Dylan Quirk, Aaron Paxton and Matthew O'Halloran.
Tooradin-Dalmore's strongest players were Lewis Hill, James Trezise, Cooper Shipp, Matthew Livermore, Dylan Paarlberg and Trent Adams.
Garfield vs Cora Lynn
Cora Lynn continued their resurgence as they became the latest team to hand Garfield yet another thumping defeat.
Star full forward Nathan Gardiner was well and truly back to his best, kicking nine goals as the Cobras won 15.11 (106) to 5.6 (36).
A relatively slow start from both sides saw the early goings descend into a heavily congested, high tackling slog, with just one goal kicked in the first term Cora Lynn's way.
The second term saw the game open up, allowing the Cobras to put on four more goals, though the Stars kicked three of their own to make the match relatively competitive.
Jonathan Sauze may have kicked just the one goal for the home side but was consistently their most damaging player, though Garfield's inability to take their chances was once again a weakness.
After half time the Cobras had clearly clicked into gear, kicking 10 goals to five in the second half to run away with their third win in a row, now looking a completely different team to the one that started the year with five straight losses.
With Gardiner now in full flight taking contested marks like it's no issue, playing Cora Lynn is suddenly a much more dangerous prospect for opposition sides, and they will surely fancy their chances of a potential late finals charge in the second half of the season.
For Garfield, the season has become a very long and very difficult one, and it is becoming harder to see just where their first win might come from.
Cora Lynn's best were Nathan Gardiner, Dillan Bass, Matthew Ryan, Robert Hill, Timothy Payne and Lynden Banting.
Jonathan Sauze, Lachlan Sauze, Jonty Bow, Zac Soutar, Zach Dalton and Kurtis Harper all played well for Garfield.
Korumburra-Bena vs Koo wee rup
Koo wee rup remain within touching distance of the top five, having overcome a dogged Korumburra-Bena away from home.
The Demons were made to work for their win as the Giants put in an extremely competitive showing in the first half to lead the contest by three points at half time.
From there, Koo wee rup took over, however, kicking seven goals to three in the third term to push the margin out their way, before maintaining it in a grinding last quarter to win 14.13 (97) to 11.4 (70).
Remarkably for the Demons, despite kicking 14 goals, they had just four goalkickers for the game. Jason Wells, Nathan Voss and Luke McMaster all kicked four goals, while Mitchell Cammarano kicked two.
Paul Fermanis continued his excellent season for Korumburra-Bena with five goals and in general it was a much more positive performance from the Giants, who have been blown out in many of their matches thus far this season.
Still, the fact that Koo wee rup had 27 scoring shots to Korumburra-Bena's 15 did indicate that the Giants were still struggling in key areas of the field.
Their defence remains a significant weakness, and had they been able to contain the bigger bodies in the Koo wee rup forward line they may have been able to get much closer.
The win sees Koo wee rup move to four wins and four losses, just one win outside the top five with a big game against Warragul to come.
Cosi Anagnostou, Nathan Muratore, Matthew Voss, Luke McMaster, Mitchell Cammarano and Bailey Galante were Koo wee rup's best.
Korumburra-Bena's stronger players were Paul Fermanis, Josh Hargreaves, Daniel Brown, Darcy Hargrave, Alaster Bradley and Nicholas Besley.
Inverloch-Kongwak vs Kilcunda Bass
It was business as usual for Inverloch-Kongwak as they smacked Kilcunda Bass off the park to keep their grip on fourth spot.
Having been defeated by a couple of the sides around them on the ladder, the Sea Eagles did what they had to, winning 18.16 (124) to 4.8 (32).
Dylan Clark kicked five goals for the home side, while Tristan Van Driel chipped in with four of his own.
Despite a relatively competitive start to the game, Kilcunda Bass were never truly in it, as their midfield was overwhelmed by the strength and speed of Inverloch-Kongwak.
As it stands, Inverloch-Kongwak are more than capable of thrashing teams below them on the table but don't appear quite up to the standard of the truly great teams in the competition.
For Kilcunda Bass, too much is often left to too few, as they have too many passengers to stay in games for very long.
Dylan Clark, Corey Casey, Oscar Toussaint, Lachlan Scott and Ethan Park were named as Inverloch-Kongwak's best.
Kilcunda Bass' better performers were Nathan Foote, Dale Gawley, Jack Soroczynski, Taylor Gibson, Zach Stewart and Thomas West.