Lyrebirds take the lead
BULN BULN further established itself as a competition front runner in round two of Ellinbank District football.
Having accounted for reigning premier Neerim-Neerim South last week, the Lyrebirds comfortably accounted for another premiership hopeful in Ellinbank, winning 16-10 (106) to 6-6 (42).
Buln Buln raced out of the blocks, heading into quarter time leading 4-1 to 0-1.
Ellinbank lifted somewhat following its slow start, kicking two goals to three in signs the Eagles may at least keep the Lyrebirds honest heading into the second half.
Coming back out after half time with a 29-point lead, the Lyrebirds lifted again to boot five goals to two in the third term and all but put the game in its keeping, increasing the lead to 49-points at the final change.
Reece Campbell finished with four goals, as the Lyrebirds ensured they would win every quarter with a further four goals to two.
Jack Symes, Mitch Nobelius, Nathan Tutton, Daniel Axford and Matthew Gray were also influential for the home side.
New recruit and attacking left foot defender Rylan Smith created opportunities for the Eagles, with Michael Urie, Bryce Joyce, Ryan Atherton, Thomas Johnson and Liam Lisle also prominent.
NILMA-DARNUM further showed its improvement, running 2022 finalist Trafalgar to within five points in an epic contest.
A frenetic start to the match saw 12 goals between the two sides, before Trafalgar held on to win a dour contest 13-13 (91) to 13-8 (86).
Leading 7-1 to 5-2 at the first change, a wasteful return of 1-5 from the Bloods in the second term saw the Bombers close the margin to just one point at half time.
Trafalgar lifted in the third term, adding four goals while keeping the Bombers scoreless to push the margin to 29-points at the final change.
Curtis Baker, Matthew Swenson and Andrew Scammell each booted three goals as scoring was shared for Trafalgar. Jace Butler, Mitch Virtue, Maclan McInnes and Dylan Farrell, playing game number 100, were also prominent in building the lead for the Bloods.
Not to be outdone, the Bombers made a final charge to threaten to steal victory from their more fancied opponents. Only a steadying goal would save Trafalgar, the Bombers booting five final term goals to almost steal it.
John Hayes finished with five goals with Sebastian Crowle, Sage Tapner, Nathan Campbell, Travis Dyke and Oxley Huson also leading the charge for the Bombers.
CATANI also showed signs of improvement under new coach Luke Young, finishing just 10-points in arrears of Longwarry.
The sides traded blows across the full four quarters, the breeze having a say in various momentum swings.
At the end of the day it was the Crows to prevail, 11-10 (76) to 10-6 (66).
An accurate Longwarry made the fast start, booting 5-0 to take a 16-point advantage into the first change.
The Blues would make a stunning response, eclipsing that effort to boot 8-0 in the second term to jump to a five goal lead in a whirlwind 46-point turnaround.
The Crows hit back as the momentum shifted again, adding four goals in the third term to reduce the deficit to just three points at the final change.
Having a bit more experience with winning, Longwarry found a way, booting the final two goals of the game to ice the result.
Braydon McHugh finished with four goals, while Angus Adamiak, Darren Granger, Daniel Pullen, Ben Cuckson and Brayden Chandler also helped the Crows to victory.
Tyson Robinson, James Williams, Lauchlan Gregson (three goals), Dylan Williams and Josh Masset gave the Blues every chance of pinching victory.
NEERIM-NEERIM South found the response it was after, scoring a big win over Nyora 21-17 (143) to 6-8 (44).
The Cats gradually built to a 99-point advantage across the four quarters, a dominant third term threatening to blow out the margin out to beyond three figures.
The consistent Saints booted two goals in each the first and second term before the third term blow out. They added two consolation goals in the final term, but the Cats simply had too much firepower.
Four goals in the first term saw the Cats take a 16-point lead, before a further five goals saw the visitor out to a handy 35-point buffer at the long break.
The Cats would dominate the third term, booting nine goals to nil to double its goal tally and put the result beyond doubt.
Luke Kinder and Isaac Fuller finished with nine goals between them to lead the charge. Marko Kulas relished his opportunity as lead ruck, with Cooper Clancy, Jack Blakey, Chris Urie and Nathan Bayne also prominent for the Cats.
The Saints showed some fight in the final term with the sting out of the contest, booting two goals to three.
The home side was best served by Jordan Anderson, Nick Anderson, Connor Jester, Dylan Heylen, Max Mattock and Scott Pugh.