KERANG have solidified their standing as the team to beat in 2023, with a 161-point drubbing of the Mallee Eagles on Saturday.
Despite a competitive first quarter from the Eagles, Kerang kept them scoreless while slamming home five goals of their own.
It didn’t get much better for Brent Sheahan’s men, who could muster only six scoring shots in a dirty day out, playing the majority of the second half without an interchange due to injuries.
The final score 29.8 (182) to 3.3 (21) and a 2-0 start to the season places Kerang on top of the Central Murray ladder.
Ahead will be a challenging five-week period, starting with a much-improved Nyah-Nyah West United this weekend, before a grand final rematch at home against arch-rivals Cohuna and upcoming highly-anticipated encounters with Balranald and Woorinen.
While acknowledging his side’s impressive start to the season, a couple of injuries being the only negatives, senior coach Troy Coates was also mindful of what was still to come.
“We’ve got a big month ahead of us … so we’ll know where we’re at after we’ve played them,” Coates said.
“We’ll need to be at our best because we know we’re the hunted this year, so we need to turn up with the right mindset over the next month, because there will be no easy games.”
Midfielder turned forward Bradlee Pay stole the limelight, with a seven-goal haul earning him best-on-ground honours.
Kerang’s new-look forward line impressed Coates the most, with 11 individual goalkickers helping to spread the load.
“I was probably most impressed with the way we shared the footy around,” Coates said.
“We kicked 29.8 and our accuracy was probably based on the fact that our forwards are playing really unselfish footy at the moment.
“Everyone is either passing it off if they’re near the boundary line or handing it off to teammates in a better position, which is exactly what we as a coaching group are wanting.”
Also catching the eye were midfielders Ryan Gillingham, Josh Nitschke and Rylee Smith, who were named among the Blues’ better players, along with ruckman Nick Lang and attacking half-back Sean Hunter.
The news wasn’t all great for Kerang however, with Tyson Clingan set for a stint on the sidelines after breaking his collarbone in the third quarter.
The Eagles fared worse, with Andrew McDonald and Zac O’Meara (both hamstrings), plus Matthew Despott (general soreness), all ending the game with ice on injuries.
Making matters worse was an injury to ruckman Angus McKenzie, who was hurt in a marking contest and failed to play out the game, leaving them somewhat vulnerable heading into this weekend’s important game against Swan Hill.
| KERANG | 5.1 | 14.3 | 19.6 | 29.8 | 182 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MALLEE EAGLES | 0.0 | 2.0 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 21 |
VOTES
3 – Bradlee Pay (Kerang)
2 – Ryan Gillingham (Kerang)
1 – Josh Nitschke (Kerang)
