LAKE Boga ended their two-game losing streak with a dominant four-quarter performance against Koondrook-Barham at Barham on Saturday afternoon.
The Magpies led from start to finish, with five goals helping the visitors to a 17-point lead at the first change.
The pain only continued for the River Raiders after quarter-time, with Lake Boga opening up a 38-point lead going into half time to effectively end the match as a contest.
The Magpies kicked six goals to three in the second half, putting the icing on the cake and running out comfortable 15.8 (98) to 6.3 (39) winners.
With nine individual goalkickers, Lake Boga were able to share the spoils around. David Gourdis led the way with a game-high four majors and midfielder-forwards Lochie Laing and Matthew Payne contributed three each.
Laing in particular had a day out, not only troubling the Raiders in attack, but also winning plenty of possessions through the midfield and around the stoppages.
Angus Monfries showed that he still had plenty of miles in the legs, playing further up the field and even in defence at times, the veteran clearly relishing a change of roles in recent weeks.
Monfries’ move has also helped free up teammates like Nathaniel Holmes-Brown, who has been one of many beneficiaries of spending more time forward.
Holmes-Brown continued his fine start to 2023 with another dominant display through the midfield, along with Jake Warren. The midfielders were well serviced by Jacob Simpson in the ruck, who won the battle against the Raiders’ Jacob Barrington.
Dom Cirillo was strong through the midfield for Koondrook-Barham, as was the reliable Pat Goble, while Eli Boyd, Tom Amor, Nick Frankling and Colin McVeigh were among the better players for the home side.
The result pushed Lake Boga back to fourth position ahead of this Saturday’s bye, with a date with the undefeated reigning premiers Kerang awaiting them after the week off.
Koondrook-Barham won’t have to wait two weeks to face off against the Blues, with the winless Raiders set to meet Kerang this Saturday before hosting the much-improved Swan Hill in a fortnight’s time.
FINAL SIREN
| KOONDROOK-BARHAM | 2.1 | 3.2 | 4.3 | 6.3 | 39 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAKE BOGA | 5.0 | 9.4 | 11.5 | 15.8 | 98 |
VOTES
3 – Lochie Laing (Lake Boga)
2 – Nathaniel Holmes-Brown (Lake Boga)
1 – Angus Monfries (Lake Boga)
