LAKE Boga claimed their fourth win of the season on the weekend with a hard-fought 19-point win over an injury hit Kerang on Saturday.
Played in windy conditions, the 12.8 (80) to 9.7 (61) win was set up with an impressive third term from the Magpies, who turned an even game at half time into a two-point lead by the final change despite kicking into the wind.
That opened the door for the home side to overrun the Blues with five-goals to two in the final quarter, with Lake Boga coach Dean Helmers impressed with his team’s development since the start of the season post-match.
“Kerang have improved a lot since the start of the season so it was going to be a good test for our boys to see how far we’ve come since the start of the year as well,” Helmers said.
“We’ve had some big losses against the top teams but there’s been patches in those games where we’ve competed really well.
“They (Kerang) got off to a better start in the first quarter but to our boys credit, they clawed their way back into the game
“We spoke a fair bit about not wasting the footy at half time and the boys executed those plans really well in the third quarter.
“In my first year here we implemented a really fast game style, but then the guys have taken a bit of time to know that you don’t always have to do that either.
“They’ve grown a fair bit this year with their tempo and their decision making is definitely getting better too, so that was pleasing and we probably had the game played on our terms a little bit more in that third quarter as a result.”
Lake Boga’s ability to take control from mid-way through the second quarter corresponded with two critical moments, with Braden Padmore returning to the game after being yellow carded in the first quarter, along with Kerang midfielder Marty Kelly.
While Padmore and Kelly were both among their respective teams’ better players, the Blues were unable to replace their captain Tyson Clingan who left the field with a broken jaw in the second quarter.
The loss of Clingan was dominating up to that point through the middle, with his absence sorely felt for the rest of the match according to Kerang coach Paul Grayling, who spoke after the match.
“We lost our skipper Tyson Clingan early in the second and he was comfortably the best player on the ground leading up to that,” Grayling said.
“We sorely missed his attack on the footy from there on in, although we played well enough to put ourselves in a position to win but just not well enough for long enough to win the match.
“I was happy with the effort and application for the majority of the game, we just let ourselves down for a few short periods which cost us dearly.”
Zac Warne was crucial around the contest for the Magpies, with Lake Boga taking control at the contest after the loss of Clingan from the middle for the Blues.
Warne stood out with his tireless work through the centre, while Koben Ryan continued to impress off half back with his ball use.
Andrew McDonald was strong in defence for the Magpies, while Nathaniel Holmes-Brown and Jayden Lonergan (four goals) were also among Lake Boga’s better players.
Hugh Bremner stood out for Kerang and had a breakout game, with Tom Hetherington, Bohden McKnight, Scott Pay, Cody Makeham and Cooper Meehan also named among Kerang’s better players.
Lake Boga will be hoping to make it two wins in a row when they host Swan Hill next round, while Kerang will take on Koondrook-Barham in a fortnight’s time.
SCORES
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final Score |
| Lake Boga | 1.3 | 5.5 | 7.7 | 12.8 | 80 |
| Kerang | 4.3 | 5.5 | 7.5 | 9.7 | 61 |
VOTES
3 – Zac Warne (Lake Boga)
2 – Koben Ryan (Lake Boga)
1 – Hugh Bremner (Kerang)
