Unbeaten Kerang was happy to scrap out an “ugly” 11-point win over a gallant Mallee Eagles at a a wind-swept Riverside Park on Saturday.
The Blues led at every break – but despite have twice as many scoring shots as the Eagles, the home side were unable to put the game to bed until late into time on of the last quarter. While the 4.16 (40) to 4.5 (29) score line flattered the visitors, their commitment and attack on the contest couldn’t be questioned.
Missing first choice on-ballers Harry Allen, Brady Fordham and defender Jack Shannahan, the Eagles used the conditions to their advantage, turning the game into a highly contested, high stoppage game of football and making their more fancied opposition earn every disposal.
Kerang co-coach Troy Coates was just happy to come away with the four points.
“I don’t think I can ever say I’ve won a game of footy with only four goals before – even in the wettest of games, we’ve always kicked more than four,” Coates said.
“It was a heavily contested game of footy – they put a lot of numbers around the contest and then with the breeze as heavy as it was the ball was forever over in one pocket of the ground.
“Credit to them, they had some good kids that just scrapped hard for everything and fought for everything but there were lots of numbers around the contest which played into their hands a bit I think.”
Coates said with the wind blowing strongly into the pocket at one end, and with both teams putting numbers behind the ball, it became “a bit of an ugly game of footy”.
“But a win’s a win – you take them anyway you can get them and as long as we keep getting the four points then we’re happy,” he said.
With the highly contested nature of the match, it’s little wonder to see Kerang’s experienced, big bodied midfielders Ryan Gillingham, Marty Kelly and Sam Heavyside named among the Blues better players along with ruckman Troy Davis.
But it was the run and carry of Rylee Smith that proved to be the big factor in the game, with the speedy wingman’s ability to break the lines into the wind that saw him finish as the most influential player on the ground.
The Mallee Eagles defence stood tall under the constant barrage of Kerang forward entries. Tom McGregor was tasked with the job of quelling the influence of reigning Jack Betts Medallist Bryce Curnow and kept the leading forward goalless. While Curnow spent half of the match playing in defence, when he was forward he was well held by the Eagles stopper.
Ayden Tessari, Jacob Wade and Clinton Cummins were also influential members of the Eagles back half that performed well.
At the other end of the ground, league leading goal kicker Sam Dunstan was kept to three majors for the afternoon, with Josh Nitschke doing a superb job of keeping the talented key forward relatively quiet.
VOTES
3 – Rylee Smith (Kerang)
2 – Tom McGregor (Mallee Eagles)
1 – Ryan Gillingham (Kerang)
MATCH RESULTS
KERANG 1.3 1.7 3.14 4.16.40
MALLEE EAGLES 1.1 2.1 3.2 4.5.29
GOALS – KERANG – Troy Coates 2, Sean Hunter, Caleb Nitschke 1.
MALLEE EAGLES – Sam Dunstan 3, Callum Dickinson 1.
BEST – KERANG – Rylee Smith, Ryan Gillingham, Martin Kelly, Troy Davis, Sam Heavyside, Michael Dalrymple
MALLEE EAGLES – Tom Mcgregor, Brent Sheahan, Clinton Cummins, Jacob Wade, Wesley Bennett, Ayden Tessari
