WITH about five minutes to go Jordan Weekley just wasn’t going to come off the ground on Saturday.
Weekley was starting to feel the effects of cramp and coach Josh Richards sent the runner out to give him a spell. But the message fell on deaf ears.
“The runner came straight back to me and said ‘He’s been through 40-odd losses, mate, there’s no way I’m getting him off the ground’,” Richards said.
Weekley played a vital role at full-back all day, made more meritorious by his relative inexperience in the role given he played forward last season, Richards said.
Other players to prove important included Raven Jolliffe, while Ben Fuller and Kane Griffiths swapped ruck through the day and Tom Matarazzo helped put a stop to their forward line after half-time.
Damian Russo down back was also important, while marquee signing Dane Fitzgerald was well held most of the day but showed his class in the clinches with 10 minutes to go.
“The defence had to stand strong and they were a big presence out there,” Richards said.
Balranald’s 14.7 (91) to 9.6 (60) victory over Lake Boga was its first since 2011 with the following two seasons seeing the Roos stranded on the bottom without a victory.
Finding its way out of the footy wilderness — a task not yet complete — has been a tough job for Balranald and the aftermath of Saturday’s victory reflected that, Richards said.
“There were a fair few emotions spilling over at the end — it was good to celebrate that,” he said.
“The president ((Tony Stead)) was stuffed for words and he wasn’t on his own. I had to compose myself once or twice addressing the players at the end.”
Richards said he felt for other clubs going through tough circumstances.
“The last two years where we haven’t won a game… The boys appreciate it more after the hard times,” he said.
Richards said he felt the Roos’ win might have been more emphatic if disposal had been more efficient, although he hoped improvement would continue over the season.
“I felt we were sort of keeping them in the game with our disposal — we were probably running at 60 per cent, so there’s a lot of improvement there,” he said.
Balranald travels into Swan Hill to take on Tyntynder after Easter, with Lake Boga hosting Kerang in the Blues’ first game.
