Sport
29 June, 2023
Tender spot in Panther ferocity
THE scoreboard was not pretty for Inglewood when Charlie McGaw sparked some hope in Saturday’s clash with Loddon Valley leaders Marong. The evebntual heavy loss showed again the dominance of Marong. It also saw a weak spot exposed in its game...
THE scoreboard was not pretty for Inglewood when Charlie McGaw sparked some hope in Saturday’s clash with Loddon Valley leaders Marong.
The evebntual heavy loss showed again the dominance of Marong. It also saw a weak spot exposed in its game plan.
The Panthers like to run rampant and when challenged, tackled and stopped by opponents, become more than a little testy.
That happened multiple times in the final term when Inglewood refused to meekly surrender the league’s current colossus that, like the Blues, has spent more years outside the five in the past two decades than most.
It was a sign of Inglewood’s improvement this season that the spirit of contest continued despite an intimidating scoreboard and a game style in the same vein from the Panthers.
It worked early in the game for Marong and only came to a stop right on the quarter time siren when McGaw slotted through the Blues’ only score of the term.
Inglewood had been unable to replicate its stunning start against Marong, now on a 24-game winning streak, earlier in the season that had the Panthers playing catch up for the first half.
But McGaw’s late goal put spark into the Blues for a four-goal second term to the Panthers’ 6.1. One came late when McGaw chipped to Connelly to cap off a more solid quarter.
The second half very much belonged to Marong - six goals in the third and then eight in the last as the Panthers raced to another 100-plus point victory.
Brayden Grenfell was on his way to eight goals for the match, slotting the ball from 50 metres out or twisting play on the top of the goal square.
Grenfell was voted best on ground and received the Kaye Cohalan Medal.
Marong used multiple avenues to goal - Robins with six and Taylor four among another nine entering their name on the scoresheet.
The Polack brothers were constantly driving attacks and orchestrating turnovers for Inglewood.
Marong had to play a very tight defence deep, congesting Inglewood’s square and limiting the home side to a single goal in the second half. The Panthers showed polish but have left some questions about capacity to withstand challenges from clubs with more experienced players and further along the path of skill growth.
For Inglewood, the spirit on Saturday was not diminished as the Blues set sights on their first finals campaign in decades.
- CHRIS EARL