CLIFF Ryan and Simon Weekley put on a master class of goal kicking prowess at Jeparit on Saturday.
Their combined tally of 25 goals was all there to interest spectators as Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers tore apart the Lakers.
The dynamic duo closed another chapter on yet another disappointing game for Jeparit Rainbow.
Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers’ win sets up an enticing couple of weeks.
Next Saturday the Tigers play Beulah for top spot and the minor premiership, they then face the Blues two weeks later in the second semi-final for a passage straight into the grand final.
The last few games have been really tough on Jeparit Rainbow players and supporters.
Poor disposal, especially into the forward line and poor decision making led to errors and there was an overall lack of defensive pressure.
The gulf between the top teams and Jeparit Rainbow seems to have grown this year when early on in the season it looked like the Lakers were improving.
Club stalwart Heath Clugston was Jeparit Rainbow’s only goal kicker for the day.
Cliff Ryan was the real star of the day.
His 16 goal haul was a sensation and it puts him in the mix to win the MFL goal kicking as he is only three behind Ouyen United’s Damien Cupido with one round to play.
The game got off to a one-sided start with Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers kicking the first five goals of the day.
This was mainly due to the dominance of Cliff Ryan.
At this early stage the first of many changes was made when Ben Marra replaced Tyler Edelsten as Ryan’s opponent.
In the third quarter Andrew Watson took on the job, then in the last Adam Schulz had his turn.
Ryan and Weekly proved impossible to stop.
Ryan with his fast leading and body strength and Weekly with his sensational high marking. As the weather warms and the grounds harden, these two are going to be tough to curtail as the Tigers challenge for the flag.
Sea Lake’s hard running midfield gave their forwards every opportunity with good disposal into the attacking zone.
Wes Harrison, Jason Collins and Darcy Ryan were on top and with young Dan McEwan rucking well, the Tigers took the ball out of the centre with ease.
Perennial workhorse Heath Clugston kicked all four of Jeparit Rainbow’s goals as well as playing in the midfield.
Chris Meyer again left nothing out on the oval as he ran himself into the ground and Elliot Bath did much the same.
Nathan Cocks tried hard on his wing, playing with the aggression that some of his more experienced team mates lacked.
Simon Clugston took some strong marks in defence and Tyler Edelsten tried hard all day and ran the ball out of the backline well.
At least these players can hold their heads high knowing that they gave all they could.
For more on round 17 of the Mallee Football League, see Wednesday’s edition of The Guardian (August 14, 2013).
