WANDELLA locked away a top-four berth on Saturday with a comfortable 94-point victory over Ultima.
The Roos were blown away in the first 30 minutes of the match by the desperate Bombers, who piled on seven goals to one in the opening quarter to put the home side to the sword early. To their credit, Ultima rallied after quarter-time to outscore their more fancied rivals by two points in the second term – but were unable to maintain the rage after the main break as Wandella again blew the game apart with 10 goals in the second half.
It was a case of deja vu for the Bombers, with Russell Rich continuing his good form out of the middle in his second consecutive best-on-ground performance following the previous round’s 63-point win over Murrabit – while Sam Sperling led the goalkicking for the visitors with five goals for the second straight week.
Wandella’s midfield dominated the undermanned Ultima on-ball division, with the Bombers winning the bulk of the clearances throughout the afternoon and controlling possession around the ground with their ability to link up by hand and break the lines by foot.
Kane Timmins, Mitch Collins, Mitchell Treacy and Darren Rushton all spent time rotating through the middle and were among Wandella’s better players, along with Rich, Sperling and Austin Crellin, who contributed three goals up forward. Logan Keighran and Michael Rowe booted three majors each in a strong forward-half display for the visitors.
While the Roos were outclassed on the scoreboard, the news was just as bad on the injury front, with Jack Delmenico (concussion), Jayden Kiel (hamstring) and Aydan Symons (knee) all failing to finish the game and in some doubt for this Saturday’s game against Murrabit.
Ultima coach Kyle Symons was adjudged the Roos’ best player for the day, alongside midfielders Sean O’Reilly and Jack Gervasi. Martyn Cooper and Will Nelson could also hold their heads up for the home side – as could key forward Riley Haberman who booted three goals alongside full forward Ryan Devereux, who contributed three majors to the Roos’ final score.
MURRABIT 7.2.44 lost to QUAMBATOOK 20.14.134
A 10-GOALS-to-two first half helped Quambatook set up a comfortable 90-point win over a disappointing Murrabit at Murrabit.
The Saints held the home side scoreless in the second quarter while piling on four goals to open up a 55-point lead at the main break – and from that point on were never headed, going on to record a strong victory.
William Collicoat led the way for Quambatook with a game-high six goals, with Ricky Wild (four goals), Bradley Organ (three) and Ash Murray (two) the other multiple goal scorers for the Saints. Blues veteran Nathan Henry led the way for the home side with three majors and was his team’s only multiple goal scorer for the afternoon.
Ricky Wild continued his good season by being awarded best-player honours by the Quambatook coaching staff – and must surely be a smoky for the EG Hunt Medal at seasons end. Tobie Cameron and Dylan Pascoe were also among the Saints’ better midfielders, while Jonty Taylor, Organ and Collicoat were also named in Quambatook’s best.
For Murrabit, ruckman Ben Gillingham was among the better players, with defender Michael Grant and midfielders Dustin Blake and Nathan O’Toole.
MOULAMEIN 17.15.117 defeated HAY 8.5.53
MOULAMEIN are one step closer to playing finals football for the first time since 2008 after their 64-point win over Hay almost guaranteed their spot.
The victory leaves the fourth-placed Swans needing just one more win from their last three matches, two games and percentage ahead of fifth-placed Macorna on the ladder. While Moulamein have a tough run home with games against Nullawil this weekend and Wandella in the final home-and-away game of the season, they also have the chance to secure those last four points against lowly Ultima in round 15.
It would also require Macorna to win all their remaining matches, including the round 16 encounter with Quambatook, and make up the difference in percentage in order for Moulamein to miss out.
After taking a 24-point lead into the main break, Moulamein flexed their muscles in the second half against the Lions with 11 goals to five after half-time. Their second half gave home side much-needed confidence after some indifferent form over the past month, which included just one win from their past four games.
Beau Duggan-Hulands and Josh Flight combined brilliantly to terrorise the Hay defence, with the key forwards contributing 10 of the Swans’ 17 goals between them.
Moulamein’s real dominance came from their midfield however, with Rodney Reeves, Morgan Turvey, Daniel Aarsman, Mason Bailey and Nathan Buckley all contributing to the Swans’ command around the stoppages through the four quarters.
Brait Headon was among the Lions’ better players, as were Nathan Wilson, Brad Pocock, Simon Bunyan, Angus Gardiner, Trent Lang and Liam Whitbourne, who finished with four majors to be Hay’s leading scorer.
NULLAWIL 28.12.180 defeated MACORNA 6.5.41
NULLAWIL retained their four-point advantage on top of the Golden Rivers seniors ladder with a commanding 139-point victory over Macorna at the weekend.
The home side set up the win with a dominant first half, with the Maroons booting 11 goals to two in the first 60 minutes to set up a 52-point lead at the main break – effectively ending the game as a contest before half-time.
Nullawil then went on with the job in the second half, scoring a further 17 goals to completely blow the Tigers away and record a 28.12.180 to 6.5.41 victory.
Unfortunately, at the time of print, there were no further details from the game.
