ETHAN Coleman lit the spark that spurred Boort to victory under lights against Charlton in Saturday’s North Central league clash.
The home-town Pies were being troubled by Charlton until late in the second term when Coleman snapped truly.
Coleman moments later proved the team player, driving the ball into the chest of senior debutante Alex Chamberlain who added another major to the scoreboard.
The mercurial feats of Coleman ended up netting five goals for the game. One saw the ball dribble through from 30 metres out, another snapped, almost as spectacular as James Keeble in the third term who put his boot to the ball in a congested forward line..
Onballer Jhye Baddeley-Kelly was in a handful of key four-quarter players for the Pies while skipper Rhys McGhie stood up countless times in defence.
Charlton had plenty of play in the opening term but it would be the Pies who edged ahead on the scoreboard, albeit more shots for goal offline than accurate.
Chris Hatcher was dynamic on the wing, particularly in the first and fourth quarters.
When Charlton did go forward, Kris Clifford was a handy focus and would end the night with two goals.
Rhyen Woods was popping up all night for Charlton. Jed and Nick Thompson kept the Royals in the game until half-time and refused to bow to the growing onslaught of confidence from Dale Cameron’s Pies after the main break.
Boort only led by nine points, thanks to a much-needed goal by James Kebbell, when the siren started the last hour of play.
The Pies defence tightened in the second half, there was greater tackling and some of the silly mistakes at times disappeared.
Wade Broadstock lifted to full rev in the centre, Smith and Austin were constantly turning over  Charlton’s attacking lunges.
Will Perryman and Nat McLaren had flashes of brilliance brighter than the lights shining down on play.
Mitchell Collins across the midfield, and even deeper into defence, took some strong marks for Charlton and used his body to maximise opportunities for the Navies.
Both sides had moments when the pace of play slackened. They were penalised for slow disposal that often resulted in goals to opponents.
Boort, after a stellar third quarter, did not keep up the same intensity in the final term, allowing the visitors opportunities that had they been more accurate, would have reduced the final margin.  A 44-point win at home and under lights was a good result on a night when Boort took a good half of football to settle and used the third quarter to open the season’s account.
The Pies have the bye this week before hosting the Loddon Derby against Wedderburn.
- CHRIS EARL