BALRANALD returned to the winners’ list in style at the weekend, with a 34-point win over the in-form Swan Hill moving them to second spot on the Central Murray ladder.
After their first loss of the season a week earlier against Kerang, the much-improved Roos were led by a dominant defensive display from intercept defender Jaxon Neagle.
Almost impassable for the home side, Neagle also set up many of his team’s forward entries winning the ball in the air and distributing it to teammates.
Balranald were quick out of the blocks, and having kept Swan Hill scoreless for the opening half-hour, managed to open up a 24-point lead going into the second quarter.
While the Swans quickly found their stride, the Roos were able to maintain a comfortable four to five-goal buffer for the remainder of the match, despite inaccuracy in front of goals, in the 10.15 (75) to 6.5 (41) win.
While coach Jydon Neagle was pleased with his team’s start, which had been a focus before the game, he said there was still plenty of room for improvement.
“We started fantastic, but we just couldn’t put the ball through the big sticks unfortunately,” Neagle said.
“We knew we needed to start well, they’re a team in form and with guys like (Toby) Thoolen, (Matthew) Wade and (Jose) Miliado in their side, we knew they’d come for us.
“They have plenty of top-end talent and we prepared for them like we prepared for anyone, and a key part of that preparation was on our start to the match.”
With a number of key players out, including key position targets Ben Fuller and Nathan Ablett, Neagle reserved special praise for his back line, who have quickly become the cornerstone of Balranald’s success this season.
“Our back six was incredible, they retained everything and rebounded off half back and provided just about all of our scoring shots,” Neagle said.
“Once we win it across half back, we’re a team that likes to rebound and it’s a system that works well for us, but only when everyone is playing their role like they did on the weekend.
“We’re not expecting to hit our straps until after the bye, hopefully we play all right this Saturday and get the job done against Tooleybuc-Manangatang, then we can go into a well-earned break and recharge the batteries.
“I think we’ll be a much better side after the bye – hopefully we get Kobe Lloyd, Tom Salau and Nathan (Ablett) back in the second half of the season and get a bit closer to full strength.”
While the Neagle brothers were once again impressive, so too was Jordan Wilkins, who had a red-hot battle for much of the afternoon with Toby Thoolen.
Ryan Middlebrook was also influential for the home side, with the attacking half-back spending more minutes in the midfield against the Swans and impressing with his ball use, along with Harrison Soraggi and the lively Ethan Gant.
The Swans were far from disgraced and can in fact be well pleased with their efforts against a side many believe will be the most likely challenger to Kerang come the end of the season, with Matthew Wade again dominating the game out of the centre square, alongside Brandon Houlihan, Luke Phelan and Tom Holdstock.
FINAL SIREN
| BALRANALD | 3.6 | 5.8 | 9.12 | 10.15 | 75 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWAN HILL | 0.0 | 2.3 | 3.4 | 6.5 | 41 |
VOTES
3 – Jaxon Neagle (Balranald)
2 – Jordan Wilkins (Balranald)
1 – Matthew Wade (Swan Hill)
