TOOLEYBUC Manangatang clinched a hard fought 30 point victory over Lake Boga on Saturday in a game that never reached any great heights as a spectacle.
The Saints overcame the pre-match loss of star ruckman Ryan O’Sullivan to eventually take the points in a low scoring affair.
The Magpies went into the game without inform forward Tim Aitken who was a late withdrawal and suffered a significant set-back in the first minute of play when reigning Jack Betts medalist Wes Pye was forced from the playing arena with a quadricep strain.
The opening 10 minutes of the contest saw the ball consistently rebounding from each half back line as both teams struggled to take up the early ascendancy.
The Saints were able to keep the Magpies from scoring through the good work of key defenders Hayden Walters and Kayne McAlpine as well as assistance from on-ballers Brenton Chislett, Jack O’Rourke and Darren Brown who pushed back into their defensive half to continually repel the Magpies.
The Pies on the other hand had early winners in the ever reliable Kyle Brawn, new recruit Jye Sellings and on-baller Michael Dedini who continually pushed the ball forward in the hope of breaking through the Saints tight defense.
The Saints opened proceedings when the talented Joshua Stone found the big sticks with a brilliant snap to bring up the first of four goals for him for the afternoon.
He then combined minutes later with Matthew Heslop to enable him to run into an open goal giving the Saints a 10 point advantage midway through this opening term.
The Magpies seemed to be second to the ball and were beginning to struggle around the packs with Brown and O’Rourke the most dominant players on the ground in this first stanza.
For more from The Guardian’s footy and netball lift-outs, see Monday’s edition (May 6, 2013).
