General News
20 June, 2024
Contempt or careless? Panthers errant up forward
FORGET the scoreboard, Marong’s dominance against Inglewood on Saturday came from its renowned clearances across the midfield. Success for the Loddon Valley league powerhouse with an eye on stretching its unbeaten run did not come with application...
FORGET the scoreboard, Marong’s dominance against Inglewood on Saturday came from its renowned clearances across the midfield.
Success for the Loddon Valley league powerhouse with an eye on stretching its unbeaten run did not come with application or accuracy in the forward zone.
While the Panthers blazed away at goal - and that’s what it was, blazing, popping and hoping - they were frustrated and annoyed by a tenacious Inglewood.
The misses meant Marong only had more goals than behinds in one quarter. Easy shots offline, short or fumbled in a display far from befitting the league’s top side.
The drive and determination coming out of defence became a wasted commodity all too often. It didn’t look careless, more playing with an air of contempt, knowing the match was in the bag and sloppy forward work of little consequence.
Luck stepped in a couple of times, particularly in the last quarter when Inglewood was punished with poor kick-ins that allowed the Panthers immediate redemption with goals.
When Inglewood got its run going, the Blues looked good, none better that a passage later in the third term when Bowen Cauchi handballed to Sam Polack who then passed to brother Dan for a goal.
Marong was 100 points up at the last break, veterans Kain Robins and Corey Gregg already well on their way to being named in the best players for the Malone Park outfit.
Where it could have been easy for Inglewood to play with an air of despondency, that was not evident from the moment the clock started ticking on the final 25 minutes of play.
Liam Marciano didn’t stop running, in one passage linking play from deep in defence right to the Inglewood goal square. He did the same thing minutes later.
But on both occasions, Marong turned over play to score goals.
The other player who showed spirit for the Blues was defender Will Allen. His agility helped in stopping the Panthers racing through the floodgates in tsunami proportions.
Marong has repeated its dominance of 2022 and 2023 in the first half of the season to be officially tagged the flag favourite.
Inglewood has a few tough matches ahead as it tries to reclaim a spot in the top five.
The scoreboard looked like a gale was blowing at Mitiamo on Saturday but it was just an indication of pressure from Newbridge and resistance from the Superoos.
Not a goal was scored in the first quarter at John Forbes Oval. Ben McKinley, Dylan Lloyd and Tyler McLeod then stirred Newbridge in the second term when it took a 20-point lead at the main break.
McKinley would finish the day as Newbridge’s best in a performance that included two of the side’s eight goals. Just 11 majors were kicked for the match compared with 29 behinds, the scoreboard mirroring on-ground intensity and desperation.
The Sharp Show rolled into Calivil where Bridgewater notched up a 100-point win and its star goal gun finished the day with 13.
Victory was firmly set up in the opening term blitz led by Boden Alexander for the Mean Machine that left Calivil flat-footed.
It was only in the final term that Calivil was a whisker more competitive. Coaches Lachlan Sharp and Rick Ladson saw youngster Darcy Wood put in his best game this season.
Pyramid Hill was also plagued by scoreboard accuracy in its annihilation of Maiden Gully.
The round’s biggest winners, Pyramid Hill had 13 goal kickers in the 167-point win.
Zach Alford finished the day with four but it was the sterling contribution of Tom McGregor again in defence that thwarted any attempts by Maiden Gully to go deep into its forward zone.
The Eagles only troubled the scoreboard twice for the day.
Bailey George and skipper Steve Gunther were also named in the Bulldogs’ emphatic win over the hapless Eagles.