IN front of a big home crowd, Lake Boga defeated an undermanned Koondrook-Barham combination on Saturday by 72 points to record their best start to a season in over a decade.
The game never reached great heights as a spectacle, with both sides struggling to hit targets, thus consistently turning the football over, much to the frustration of spectators, commentators and coaches.
The Magpies started on top early as they ran the ball consistently into their forward 50. Lake Boga opened proceedings on the scoreboard, when the talented Jarrod Taylor grabbed the ball on centre wing and was able to hit up Jayden Lonergan with a spearing pass, enabling him to kick truly from 40 metres pressed up against the boundary line.
The Magpies were controlling the clearances in the first half of the first term with co-coach Angus Monfries combining extremely well with Nathanial Homes-Brown and the effervescent Matt Filo.
The Magpies’ excellent work in the midfield was being thwarted by many unforced errors and the excellent defence from Raiders players Reagan Hamilton, Jack Shannon and youngster Rylan Attwell. Despite having most of the play, the Magpies couldn’t create any real scoreboard advantage and looked frustrated.
Midway through the term the Raiders began to settle, with Pat Goble, Col McVeigh and Jake Dick-O’Flaherty combining on a number of occasions to drive the ball into their forward 50. It would be Goble who kicked their first after being awarded a free kick for a kicking in danger decision.
The Sherrin continued to rebound off both half-back lines due to poor disposal by both hand and foot. A highlight of the first term was the performance of Magpie first-gamer Dustin Burns, with the 17-year-old displaying football smarts way beyond his years. His uncanny ability to read the play was a delight to watch and his senior future looks extremely bright.
Players, spectators and coaches were relieved when the siren sounded, with the Magpies holding a slender lead at quarter-time. The second term saw the Magpies get reward for effort, booting three unanswered goals. Monfries was able to hit up Rhys Healey for his first of two for the afternoon.
Dusty Burns went to a new level having a hand in the next two goals kicked by Monfries, who had moved forward. Jacob Murley was on top for the Magpies off half-back and his run and delivery was worth the entry fee.
The Raiders were under the pump and if it were not for the efforts of brothers Jordan and Lucas Iudica, along with Dick-O’Flaherty, the score line could have been much worse than the twenty-one-point deficit at half-time.
The third term was the Raiders’ best, booting four goals with Owen Uaonga going into the ruck with immediate effect. His bulky frame created problems for Magpies ruckman Jacob Simpson and it was the Raiders who started to win the contested footy.
Warren Lolicato was a target across half-forward as was Stephen Randall, while the Iudica brothers lifted due to the excellent work of Uaonga and the Raiders started to cut the Magpies margin back. Two late goals by Monfries gave him three for the term and seemed to stem the tide at the last break.
It would be the Magpies who responded to the urgings of joint coach Shaun Filo however, booting seven unanswered goals in the final term. The skill level seemed to finally reach the level expected of major league football, with Matt Filo knocking up winning possessions through the midfield to see him adjudged best on ground.
Monfires kicked his sixth goal for the afternoon in a solid display, despite kicking three points in a row midway through the quarter. Dusty Burns provided a key highlight of the final quarter when he ran off half-back, contesting three pack situations, before being finally rewarded with a great tackle on a Raiders player having run 60 metres in a never-say-die effort. Ryan Fox booted three last-term goals through capitalising on his freakish pace, with one magnificent running goal winning goal of the day honours.
The Raiders were a spent force in the last term and with the Magpies running rampant would have been pleased to hear the final siren sound after another exhausting day.
VOTES
3 votes Matt Filo (Lake Boga)
2 votes Nathaniel Holmes-Brown (Lake Boga)
1 votes Dustin Burns (Lake Boga)
MATCH RESULTS
LAKE BOGA 1.3 4.7 8.10 15.17.107
KOONDROOK-BARHAM 1.0 1.4 3.4 5.5.35
GOALS – LAKE BOGA – Angus Monfries 6, Jayden Lonergan 3, Ryan Fox 3, Rhys Healey 2, Brady Hogan 1.
KOONDROOK-BARHAM – Garry Lolicato 2, Patrick Goble, Jake Dick-O’Flaherty, Morgan Randall 1.
BEST PLAYERS – LAKE BOGA – Nathaniel Holmes-Brown, Angus Monfries, Matthew Filo, Dustin Burns, Jacob Simpson, Ryan Fox
KOONDROOK-BARHAM – Colin Mcveigh, Owen Uaongo, Jake Dick-O’Flaherty, Morgan Randall, Jack Shannon, Rylan Attwell
