BALRANALD showed no signs of post-bye rust during their 41-point win over Swan Hill as the rampaging Roos returned to the winners’ list.
While Swan Hill put in tireless effort throughout, Balranald’s cohesion and forward movement told, with them running out 17.17 (119) to 11.12 (78) winners.
Although the victory brings Balranald’s tally to six, it wasn’t enough to move the Roos into the ladder’s top three as they trail third-placed Woorinen by a single percentage point.
The Roos burst out of the blocks from the opening bounce, missing two set shots within the game’s opening minutes before Seth Connell kicked the opening goal.
When Jydon Neagle followed with the Roos’ second goal shortly after, the Swans were able to put a halt to the momentum quickly through coach Michael Herlihy.
Herlihy finished the quarter off with his second goal after Balranald added a pair of goals, leaving the Swans trailing by nine points at the first break.
Tobias Thoolen’s start in the Swan Hill forward line didn’t last long, as the dominant ruckman returned to centre stoppages early in the first term to great effect.
The Swans would have been disappointed to not be closer or even lead at quarter-time, having had one more scoring shot than their opponents to start the game.
Balranald coach Tom Lister said his side had been prepared for the Swans to be raring to go from the outset.
“We had spoken before the game about how we were expecting Swan Hill to throw everything they had at us,” he said.
“We’re quickly coming to terms with the fact that, being one of the top sides now over last year and again this year, that teams are going to want to try and take you down.
“Most games of footy these days there’s periods of momentum that go back and forth, it really comes down to how well you can stop the opposition from doing something with it.
“I felt like at times we stopped them really quickly and played on our terms which might have made it look like we were running over them.
“But there were still those periods where they kicked three or four goals in a row where things weren’t working as well for us, and I’m glad those three or four didn’t blow out to ten goals.”
Even without a handful of important cogs in their midfield and attack, the Swans were able to be on top of the inside-50 count for much of the game.
But the Balranald backline defended well throughout, with the likes of Jaxon Neagle and Jack Salau pouncing on the football and running the ball out with their immense pace.
Lister said his side were adept at transitioning their defensive rebounding, without giving up height in their defensive match ups.
“It’s always defence first, but we know we are pretty good at turning the ball over at times,” he said.
“Jaxon (Neagle) reads the play and the ball really well, and Jack Salau, Harrison Sorragi and Ryan Middlebrook all feed off that as well.
“As soon as they see Jaxon with ball in hand, they know they can just go. He’s a good user of the footy, and those blokes are all so fast, so it works well.
“Most teams think we have a pretty short defensive line, but their all around that six-foot three mark.
“Sides try to stretch us that bit more, and we expected that to happen and for Ned McKeown to go forward for them.”
McKeown was a dangerous forward for the Swans, kicking three goals for the game alongside coach Michael Herlihy who kicked three and was seemingly everywhere between attack and defence.
Swans onballers Elijah Miliado and Cooper Angus gave their all in the middle of the ground, while Thomas Corridan defended bravely all game.
Drew Lloyd was the top scorer for the Roos with a bag of four goals, with Jydon and Matt Neagle both finishing the game with three goals and Seth Connell with two.
Ryan Middlebrook was impressive between defence and onball, while Jack Jones, Sebastian Papa and Jake Lockhart were also in the Roos’ best.
Lister said the rotation combination of Lloyd and Matt Neagle meant the pair could have an impact on the game in either zone.
“People don’t realise that those guys are the two that swap between forward and midfield for us,” he said.
“We got seven goals out of the pair of them today, so if they’re not getting it on the ball, they’ll be doing the work down forward.”
The pair will need to be at their best again next week when Balranald host ladder-leaders NNW United, while Swan Hill will have a bye.
SCORES
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final Score |
| Swan Hill | 3.6 | 5.10 | 8.11 | 11.12 | 78 |
| Balranald | 5.3 | 9.8 | 14.12 | 17.17 | 119 |
VOTES
3 – Ryan Middlebrook (Balranald)
2 – Matthew Neagle (Balranald)
1 – Michael Herlihy (Swan Hill)
