A SIX-goal final quarter put Nyah-Nyah West United’s first win of the season in the books, after overcoming a much-improved Koondrook-Barham by 46 points.
After holding an 11-point lead at the final change, NNW United exploded as the Raiders ran out of legs, the match ending 14.19 (103) to 9.3 (57).
Koondrook-Barham – winless last year – were a more formidable opponent, however, and new recruits Billy Driscoll, Jason Hura and Nathan Hura were all among the home side’s better players.
Driscoll was not only strong around the contest, he showed his class on the outside, but he was overshadowed by a former Raider.
New Demon Jordan Iudica started as a hybrid midfielder-forward before in the second half moving into the centre square, where he dominated the game.
It was a match tailor-made for the two contested ball winners, with both sides working hard at winning the inside ball.
NNW United coach Jason Murphy was impressed with his side’s ability to run the game out.
“We spoke after the game as a group and paid a bit of respect to Koondrook-Barham – they played some really good footy in the first half and challenged us at the contest, but we backed our fitness levels in to run over them in the second half,” Murphy said.
“I guess the willingness of our boys to fight through a bit of chaos in the first half, and come out and play our best footy at the end, was pretty pleasing.
“(Koondrook-Barham) came out really hard and their recruits played really well, especially in the first half, but we probably just batted a bit deeper than them in the end.
“They hung with us in the first half around the contest inside, and we were second to the ball at times, but our ball winners like Jordan Iudica, Nick O’Neill, Dom Gallo and Ethan Saville started winning the footy after half-time, which enabled us to get our running game going and allowed us to link up by hand in the end.”
The Raiders also troubled NNW United by taking the game on and moving the ball at speed through the corridor.
On several occasions Koondrook-Barham were able to pick their way through the Demons’ press and convert a number of opportunities into goals.
One of the beneficiaries of the quick ball movement through the corridor was Kye Attwell, who had an enthralling battle opposed to opposing defender Campbell Everitt.
While the points were shared between the two, Attwell showed how important he is to Koondrook-Barham’s forward structure with his presence providing his midfielders with a strong attacking target.
For the Demons, Jaydyn Stirling was at his attacking best off half-back, while Joel Walsh was able to intercept many of the Raiders’ errant forward entries.
Blake Larkings was another key player for the visitors and took the ruck honours on the day, while Brandyn Grenfell finished with four goals and showed he will be a handful for opposition defenders this season.
While NNW United will be happy to have secured their first points of the season, it did come at a cost, with Brady Davidson injuring a quad, which will place him in some doubt for this Saturday’s much-hyped encounter with Woorinen.
FINAL SIREN
| BARHAM KOONDROOK | 2.0 | 5.3 | 8.3 | 9.3 | 57 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NNW UNITED | 5.4 | 5.9 | 8.14 | 14.19 | 103 |
VOTES
3 – Jordan Iudica (NNW United)
2 – Billy Driscoll (Koondrook-Barham)
1 – Jaydyn Stirling (NNW United)
