Lake Boga secured their fourth straight win to start the season with a 37-point victory over Nyah-Nyah West United on Saturday afternoon.
It’s the first time since 2003 – when they won their last Seniors premiership – that the Magpies have started a season 4-0 – and they are one of only three teams yet to taste defeat this season.
The 13.9 (87) to 7.8 (50) win puts Lake Boga in second on the ladder and although there is still a lot of football to be played, the Magpies are now perfectly placed to qualify for their first finals series since 2010.
The Demons, on the other hand, remain without a win this season, having played three of the top four sides so far, along with the two-time reigning premiers Woorinen – and while yesterday’s game didn’t end with the result they would have been hoping for, the performance was still an encouraging one, according to their coach, Corey Daniels.
“It (the result) was a little bit disappointing, but at the same time we’re a little bit more positive about things, too – we played a lot better, but we just didn’t take our chances when we had them, especially in the first half,” Daniels said.
“We felt we probably should have gone in about even at halftime in terms of how the game was being played generally – certainly from our perspective, it was a pretty close game of footy.”
“We just lacked a little bit of class and finish, but overall the performance was a lot more positive from our end – with that said, they were really good too, they’ve improved a lot, so credit where credit’s due.”
“They were just a bit more polished than us and had a bit more class and were able to finish off their work a bit better, which was probably the difference in the end.”
Josh Filo continued his strong first season in the black and white, dominating out of the centre to take out best-on-ground honours. The midfield was where Lake Boga won it, with Filo’s brother Matt also a strong contributor in the win for the home side, along with Brady Hogan, Dustin Burns and Tyle Williams.
For the Demons, Zac Caccaviello was once again among their better players, with his speed from the contest keeping his team in the game throughout the afternoon, while Jaydyn Stirling across half back and former coach Jarrod Skinner across half forward continued their good starts to 2022 in the red and blue.
After his 11-goal haul last Sunday against Swan Hill, Angus Monfries was always going to be closely monitored – and it was another former United coach in Joel Campbell who was given the job on the former Essendon and Port Adelaide forward. While Monfries kicked three goals and was his team’s leading goal scorer, his influence on the game was nowhere near the level it was the previous week, with Campbell taking the points in their battle.
As if losing their fourth straight match wasn’t hard enough, the Demons also suffered another couple of injuries, with defender Cal Dobbin injuring a hamstring and Brady Davidson also ending the game in discomfort, with both in doubt for next Saturday’s home game against Tyntynder.
For Lake Boga, their season is about to go up to another level. The next month of football – with games against Woorinen, Kerang and the Mallee Eagles – is set to decide whether they are genuine contenders or if they are just making up the numbers.
VOTES
3 – Josh Filo (Lake Boga)
2 – Brady Hogan (Lake Boga)
1 – Zac Caccaviello (NNW United)
MATCH RESULTS
LAKE BOGA 2.1 6.3 10.5 13.9.87
NNW UNITED 2.4 3.4 5.7 7.8.50
GOALS – LAKE BOGA – Angus Monfries 3, Oliver Rohde 3, Dustin Burns 2, Shannon O’Reilly, Jayden Lonergan, Nathaniel Holmes-Brown, Jarrod Taylor, Xander Hartland 1.
NNW UNITED – Brent Arho 4, Jarrod Skinner, Alex Erlandson, Ethan Saville 1.BEST – LAKE BOGA – Joshua Filo, Brady Hogan, Tyle Williams, Dustin Burns, Matthew Filo, Angus Monfries
NNW UNITED – Zac Caccaviello, Jaydyn Stirling, Jarrod Skinner, Joel Campbell, Campbell Everitt, Oliver Boulton
