MURRABIT have finally broken through for their first win of 2023, with the Blues holding on for a heart-stopping four-point win over Wandella on Saturday.
With Josh Kennedy joining the Blues for the day through the Carlton Draft, and with Damian Cupido kicking his 1300th goal in country Victorian football, Murrabit played like a team possessed – and one that was not going to be overawed by the occasion.
While the Blues were quick out of the blocks with four unanswered goals in the opening term, several injuries throughout the match told on the home side’s rotations late in the game.
Wandella then fought back in the final term, rattling home with nine scoring shots to three, with Murrabit eventually holding on for a 11.5 (71) to 9.13 (67) win.
The Bombers, who still have just one win to their name, now face an uphill battle to make the finals, with the perennial finalists now two wins and percentage outside of the top four and with just half of the season left to play.
Despite playing some good football in recent weeks, the four points were a long time coming for Mick O’Toole, with the Murrabit coach hoping Saturday’s result would propel his team forward into the second half of the season.
“It was nice to just get the monkey off the back I suppose and we’ll gain a lot out of that win,” O’Toole said.
“The week before (against Moulamein) we slipped up a bit, we had our chances that day, but this time we held on – I’m just so proud of the boys and the way they ground it out in what was a massive day for our club.
“We had a few blokes go down throughout the match and we we’re down on rotations towards the end which saw us run out of legs.
“We lost Michael Grant, who is so important to our defensive structure, with a hamstring in the first minute of the game and the boys were just out on their feet at the end.
“To Wandella’s credit, though, they are also missing quite a few quality players as well. But they still had a real crack.”
Nathan O’Toole and Dustin Blake were instrumental in winning the contested ball through the midfield for the Blues, along with Michael Crossett and Sean Gillen.
Wandella’s Jonty Taylor almost single-handedly dragged the Bombers over the line in the last quarter with a dominant display in the ruck.
O’Toole was most impressed with the Blues’ defence, along with former Hawthorn and Sydney Swans player Kennedy, who had the crowd eating out of his hand for much of the four quarters.
“I thought our back line held up really strong early in the game and we were winning the ball out of the middle a lot in the first half. That probably proved to be the difference in the end,” O’Toole said.
“We really set up the game early, Cupido kicked three in the first quarter and Josh Kennedy’s ball use was just phenomenal.
“Every time he had the ball the crowd was electric, which was pretty often, because he would have had over 40 touches. More importantly from our perspective, he brought a lot of other players into the game.”
While Murrabit finally have the monkey off their back, Ultima’s dominant season just rolls on. Last year’s wooden spooners recorded their eighth straight win of the season with a hard-fought 15-point win over Macorna on the weekend.
After holding a 39-point lead at the final break, the Roos stopped to a walk while the Tigers stormed home with five final-quarter goals, sending a scare through the Ultima camp.
It proved to be too little, too late for Macorna, with the ladder leaders holding on to win 12.13 (85) to 11.4 (70).
The other round 8 game was also a nail-biter, with Moulamein holding on for a 14-point victory despite a late surge from Hay.
The undermanned Lions were chasing the Swans’ tails for much of the afternoon after Moulamein opened up a 25-point lead in a lacklustre second quarter.
The Swans then extended that margin to 30 points by the final change, before holding on to record a 10.12 (72) to 8.10 (58) win – their seventh of the season.
