AN Angus Monfries masterclass has led Lake Boga to their third straight win of the season as they surged to a 32-point win over Swan Hill on Sunday.
The former Bombers and Port Adelaide star kicked 11 goals in the Anzac Day feature match, including five in a row in a thrilling third quarter burst that blew the game open for his side.
Monfries, who is co-coach of the Magpies this season, was extremely pleased with the win post game as they build momentum into the season.
“We obviously piled on a few goals in the back half of the third quarter and took a decent lead into three quarter time,” he said.
“We put an emphasis on kicking the first couple and trying to break the back of them early and they ended up kicking the first two of the last quarter.
“I think as a group we showed a lot of maturity just to stem the flow and halt their momentum and get it back on our terms .”
Currently sitting 3-0, Monfries was looking forward to the next few weeks ahead.
“You can’t ask for more than that,” he said.
“We are happy to be in this position and we will keep looking forward and try to keep the win rolling.”
Despite kicking 11 himself, Monfries highlighted the importance of the midfield guiding them to victory.
“The boys in the midfield were doing the bulk of the work getting first hands on the ball and getting us a look inside 50,” he said.
“I’m not sure what the entries were but I think we had a fair few more than what Swan Hill did.”
With a pre-match Anzac Day ceremony and in front of a huge crowd, the two teams locked horns in a tight arm-wrestle in the first half with just two points the difference at the main change.
Swan Hill kicked the first goal of the third quarter in the first three minutes and started to look in good shape.
Enter Monfries.
After kicking four goals in the first half, the dynamic small forward booted five consecutive goals in a 12-minute period to completely shift the momentum of the game the Magpies way.
When Lake Boga ruckman Jacob Simpson converted late in the third, the margin was suddenly out to 34 points.
Swan Hill came out in a flurry kicking two goals within the first minute of the last quarter to reduce the margin to 22, but Lake Boga steadied in the last to notch up their third consecutive win.
Monfries was awarded the Best on Ground Medal for the clash, kicking at least one goal in each of the four quarters.
Simpson continued his strong start to the year and gave the Magpies midfielders first use all day while Matthew Filo backed up his best on ground performance against Koondrook-Barham with another standout display.
For Swan Hill, Kallen Heslop was good up forward while Matthew Wade and Jarvis Keogh battled hard all day.
After dropping to 0-3, co-coach Wade admitted that some crucial skills errors and a lack of intensity in parts of the game cost the team a possible victory.
“I think our intensity was okay for parts of the game but we sort of didn’t bring it all game,” he said.
“Our skill errors through the middle of the ground hurt us a lot.
“Going forward we lacked the finish and that last kick and that probably cost us a couple of goals.”
Despite the loss, Wade believes that his side could take a lot of lessons out of the game.
“I thought the belief was there but we just run out of legs and didn’t have those rotations to keep fresh,” he said.
“Unfortunately they were able to steady the ship and keep us at bay.”
VOTES
3 Angus Monfries
2 Jacob Simpson
1 Matthew Filo
