KERANG have affirmed that status as the team to beat this season with a comprehensive 62-point win over a disappointing Balranald at a blustery Riverside Park on Saturday.
With a significant breeze favouring the town end, the reigning premiers made the most of the conditions in the first half, firstly holding the Roos to just a solitary goal into the wind in the first quarter, before piling on eight of nine goals in the second.
This enabled the Blues to open up an unassailable 42-point lead by half-time, with the home side continuing the punishment to secure a comfortable 13.12 (90) to 3.10 (28) victory.
Balranald were without key players Jydon and Matthew Neagle, while Adam Baird returned for his first game since the Blues’ round 6 draw against the Mallee Eagles.
The absence of the Neagles clearly hurt the Roos midfield, with Drew Lloyd spending more time on the ball and less time forward as a result.
However, that doesn’t explain Balranald’s lack of composure in the first quarter, when the visitors constantly wasted their forward entries with long bombs to Kerang’s advantage – and with it wasting their chance to impact the scoreboard with the wind.
Kerang were well organised behind the ball thanks to Lachlan Ross, Bradlee Pay, Jesse Clark and Sean Hunter, who intercepted and played strong defensive football to deny the Roos at every turn.
The Roos won their fair share of the ball throughout the early stages, although Nick Lang and the Kerang midfield eventually got on top around the stoppages and in contested ball the longer the game went.
It wasn’t so much Balranald’s lack of a forward target that was the problem, but rather the indiscriminate use of the ball, which was exacerbated half an hour later as they watched Kerang hit targets inside their forward line time and time again with the wind at their back.
Rather than dumping the ball deep into attack, the Blues instead chose to hit up the short option, with six of their eight goals for the quarter coming from 30 metres out or further.
Clinical, organised and disciplined would be the best way to describe the reigning premiers’ performance, with Kerang working the ball through the corridor with the wind, and when kicking into it, playing wide, maintaining possession and slowing the game down.
On the other hand, Balranald’s discipline – or lack of – cost them two crucial goals into the wind, with Jack Jones giving away two 50-metre penalties in the first and third quarters, both of which resulted directly in goals for Adam Baird and Tyson Clingan.
One of the few shining lights for the Roos was captain Harrison Soraggi, who worked tirelessly in the middle all afternoon, with Drew Lloyd, Jaxon Neagle and Jack Helgeland also strong contributors for the visitors.
Nick Lang was dominant for the Blues and produced a best-on-ground-performance, with his ability to give his onballers first use around the stoppages a key factor in the win.
Josh Nitschke was also one of Kerang’s better players in what is shaping as another strong season from the hard running midfielder, with Marty Kelly, Sam Heavyside and Tyson Clingan also dangerous around the contest.
The other pleasing element to the win for Kerang would be their continued non-reliance on any one key goalkicker, sharing their 13 goals among 12 players, with Clingan the only player to finish the afternoon with multiple goals for either side.
SCORES
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final Score |
| Kerang | 1.0 | 9.4 | 10.4 | 13.12 | 90 |
| Balranald | 1.4 | 2.4 | 3.9 | 3.10 | 28 |
VOTES
3 – Nick Lang (Kerang)
2 – Josh Nitschke (Kerang)
1 – Lachlan Ross (Kerang)
