A SEVEN-goal haul from Ben Fuller wasn’t enough to drag Balranald to victory over Nyah-Nyah West United on the weekend, with the reigning premiers solidifying fourth spot on the ladder with a 64-point win.
While Fuller proved unstoppable at one end, Demons co-coach Corey Daniels capped off a life changing week with an equally impressive five-goal performance in his return from a hamstring strain.
Fuller did the bulk of his damage in the first quarter, with the veteran full-forward kicking all five goals as the Roos took a slender three-point lead into the first change.
His first quarter dominance prompted the NNW United hierarchy to make a change, with Nash Richman switching to Fuller for the remainder of the match and restricting him to just two more majors for the afternoon.
From quarter time onwards it was all one-way traffic as NNW United piled on 14-goals to Balranald’s four, with the Demons eventually running away with the game 18.16 (124) to 9.6 (60).
The other highlight for the visitors was the inclusion of key players Joel Walsh, Ethan Saville, Alex Erlandson and Daniels, with all four returning after lengthy injury layoffs.
Although disappointed with his team’s first quarter performance, their response and the return of his four key players pleased NNW United co-coach Jason Murphy, with the Demons beginning to resemble the team that charged all the way to last years premiership.
“We were pretty disappointed with the way we started in the first quarter, we were a bit flat with our intensity and energy and we can’t afford to do that in a few weeks’ time,” Murphy said post-match.
“For the last three quarters the boys really stepped it up though, our contest was good and we showed the signs of the team we hope to be.
“The weekend was probably more about getting minutes into those boys that came in and begin ramping them up for finals.
“They all got through and we managed their minutes pretty well.
“Obviously with the scoreboard being in our favour, we were able to manipulate it a little bit and look after them, and the four of them came off with about a quarter to go, which was perfect.”
Brady Davidson was among the Demons’ better players, along with Jordan Iudica and Mitchell Grinham, the latter of whom played perhaps his best game for the season on the wing.
Grinham was influential in helping NNW United return to the style of football that they hope to play over the coming weeks, according to Murphy.
“We’re trying to get back to our DNA a little bit and get some speed on the ball,” Murphy said.
“I think we’ve probably gone away from that against some of the better opposition that we’ve played over the last month.
“To get some speed on the ball and get our handball game going again was really pleasing and we feel we can score more heavily when we play that way.”
Richman was also key to the Demons’ defence, with his role in shutting Fuller down after his fast start also a key factor in the visitors’ dominance after quarter time.
For Balranald, they were well served by Ian Fuller, Jack Helgeland, Tom Salau, Cruz Jolliffe and half back runners Ryan Middlebrook and Jack Salau.
Although disappointed with the overall result, Salau was still able to find several positives for his team, with the form of the Roos’ younger brigade among them.
“It was a disappointing loss after a good start to the game, but they (NNW United) are a good side and their class started to show more as the game went on,” the Balranald co-coach said.
“We played a lot more of a team game though and there was lots of positive signs.
“We had a lot of the play going our way but we just cost ourselves scores again from skill errors, which is frustrating, but at least we had lots of opportunities.
“We just need to clean up our disposal.
“Our kids all played well and are developing a lot, so we’re excited about that continuing.”
SCORES
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final Score |
| Balranald | 5.2 | 6.4 | 8.4 | 9.6 | 60 |
| Nyah-Nyah West United | 4.5 | 10.9 | 14.13 | 18.166 | 124 |
VOTES
3 – Brady Davidson (NNW United)
2 – Ben Fuller (Balranald)
1 – Mitchell Grinham (NNW United)
