TOOLEYBUC-Manangatang are continuing to build into the season, according to senior coach Brad Morris, with the Saints recording a strong 57-point win over Lake Boga on Saturday.
Played in near perfect conditions, the Saints blew the game open in the third quarter, kicking seven unanswered goals to take an unassailable 68-point lead into the final break.
The 17.13 (115) to 8.10 (58) result was Tooleybuc-Manangatang’s second win for the season and sees them climb into the top five for the first time in 2025.
“It was really good to just have a convincing win like that, it’s good for the group and good for our confidence after the start to the year we’ve had,” Morris said.
“I guess for us it was about building that continuity and coming off a big loss in round one and then a tough game against Kerang, it was good to see us start to get some consistency about our game.
“It wasn’t an excuse that I wanted to make with having new faces and new recruits and that it’s going to take time to gel, that was something that I wanted to eliminate, but I guess if you’re being realistic, that’s exactly what happens when you’re building at the start of year like we are.
“It’s good to see that we’re taking those steps and and the momentum is building.
“When you have 10 blokes training away from the club every week it makes life hard, but that’s just where we’re at with numbers and that’s what we’ve got to do.
“So we deal with it and we try and make it work, but as long as we keep progressing, that’s what it’s all about.”
Having gone into the match understrength because of an early season run of injuries, Tooleybuc-Manangatang injuries woes continued with both Josh Koster (AC joint) and first gamer Campbell Fisher (collarbone) both suffering game ending injuries, reducing the Saints to two rotations for much of the second half.
Despite the loss of Koster, the Saints were able to get on top through the midfield thanks to the dominance of ruckman Connor Mcdonald, who returned to the form which saw him win last year’s Jack Betts Medal.
Mcdonald was superb around the stoppages, along with Blake Grant, Elliott Chalmers and Josh Domaille, with Morris impressed with his onballers ability to find the footy.
“We were wary of their (Lake Boga) midfield before the game, we identified that was a bit of a strength of theirs with (Braden) Padmore, (Zac) Warne and (Nathaniel) Holmes-Brown in there,” Morris said.
“We really wanted to really get on top in there and nullify their influence, we thought if we can take that away from them a bit and capitalise on our strength around the contest then that will hold us in good stead and I felt we did for three and a half quarters.
“It wasn’t just about shutting one particular player down this bloke, it was more doing it as a group and the boys just worked really well as a midfield contingent.”
Connor Nutting was again dominant up forward, kicking eight goals for the match to take his season tally to 18 and lead the league goal kicking after three rounds, while Josh Williams continues to enjoy his role change, with the key position player also among the Saints best at centre half back.
For the Magpies, Koben Ryan, Marty Parsons and Rex Hickman were among their better players, with coach Dean Helmers lamenting the two week break between matches for his team.
“It was a bit of a dirty day at the office for us, we were a bit unsure how we would go after playing well in round one but then going into two weeks off,” Helmers said.
“It clearly had an affect as we never fired a shot really, we just couldn’t get going at all.
“Full credit of course to Tooleybuc-Manangatang, they dominated the midfield and around the packs but even on the times we broke free, we turned the ball over due to perceived pressure.
“We can’t dwell on it, but we identified that we have a few too many one paced players, so we’ll start looking at blooding more of the kids through as they are flying in all grades.
“There is ample height and pace there, but again they will need time.”
The news only gets worse for Lake Boga, who will be without Noah Sherlock for Saturday’s all-important clash against Swan Hill, after injuring his hamstring.
VOTES
3 – Connor Mcdonald (Tooleybuc-Manangatang)
2 – Josh Williams (Tooleybuc-Manangatang)
1 – Connor Nutting (Tooleybuc-Manangatang)
SCORES
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final Score |
| Lake Boga | 1.1 | 4.3 | 4.7 | 8.10 | 58 |
| Tooleybuc-Manangatang | 4.5 | 7.9 | 15.9 | 17.13 | 115 |
