Sport
2 May, 2023
Ararat continue climb with win over Lions | MDFNL round three
The Ararat Eagles has won both games since its round one loss to Tatyoon.
Ararat Eagles vs. Great Western
The Ararat Eagles is continuing its climb up the Mininera and District Football Netball League seniors ladder after a 14.15(99) - 8.5(53) victory over Great Western.
It was one way traffic for the Sunday, April 30 contest, with the Eagles stretching its lead by every interval.
"Our defence really set up the game for us," said Ararat Eagles coach, Bhun Joiner.
"Aaron Neal and Jackson Taurau cut off pretty much anything that came down.
"Then we were just able to move the ball pretty well through the middle and give our forwards the best opportunity."
The strongest quarter for the Lions was the third, where they added three goals and two behinds, for a total of 20, while Ararat put up and extra four goals and three behinds, for 27 points.
Ararat's Brad Thomas topped the scoring, taking home a five-goal bag.
Thomas was also named best player for the fixture alongside teammates, Aaron Neil, Jackson Taurau, Dale Reid, Damian Joiner, Jaydo Wright.
Joiner also spoke on how his team is progressing as the season rolls on.
"Tatyoon are a quality outfit so that was always going to be a tough opening, but I reckon we held our own and from there we've just progressed," he said.
"We're starting to play some good footy now, so we're just going week-by-week, trying to build on what we've started."
Joiner's Ararat Eagles are set to host the Penshurst Bombers in round four of the MDFNL.
"We've progressed for the first two weeks (since a round one loss against Taytoon)," Joiner said.
"We're just looking forward to that progression this week against a young Penshurst team which will no doubt give us a few headaches."
Wickliffe-Lake Bolac vs. Tatyoon
Tatyoon has kept its unbeaten run alive with a narrow win on the road against Wickliffe-Lake Bolac.
While the Hawks enjoyed a small margin at the first break, the Magpies won the second quarter, to level the scores at half time, and claimed the lead by the final break, holding a four point lead with one quarter left.
Scoring was kept low for both teams in the final period, only three goals were scored, with the Hawks taking the win.
The final score read 6.12(48) - 7.9(51)
Wickliffe-Lake Bolac's Lachlan Reilly and Tatyoon's Taylor Stewart led the scoring, taking three goals each.
Hawkesdale-Macarthur vs. Glenthompson-Dunkeld
Glenthompson-Dunkeld have held onto the top spot on the MDFNL ladder after a tight win in the high-scoring contest against Hawkesdale-Macarthur.
A competitive opening period saw the Rams take a two-goal lead into the first break, but by half time they'd lost it all, with the HM Eagles completing a 22-point swing to lead by 10 at half-time.
The Rams re-took the lead in the third, taking a two-point advantage in the final quarter, where they held the margin steady until the final siren to win 14.8(92) - 14.10(94).
Lachlan Glare took a five-goal bag to top the scoring for the fixture.
SMW Rovers vs. Moyston-Willaura
The SMW Rovers picked up a dominant win over the Moyston-Willaura Pumas at Conna Wilson Reserve in Mininera.
The Bulldogs collected 69 points in the opening period, and another 77 in the third.
The final score saw SMW Rovers win 31.21(207) - 5.4(34).
Ash Gray (8), Jake Carr (6), and Justin Kennedy (5) topped the scoring for the game.
The Bulldogs picked up a 148 point win in reserves as well, with Jackson Hayes taking six goals, while Jake Fleming and Callum Baker each kicked five.
Lismore-Derrinallum vs. Penshurst
It took a while for the Lismore-Derrinallum Demons to get in gear when they hosted the Penshurst Bombers on Saturday, April 29.
The Demons didn't find the goal through the first quarter, only picking up four behinds while the visitors racked up 23-points.
Momentum shifted in the second quarter as Lismore-Derrinallum outscored Penshurst 21-15.
The game remained tight for the balance of the game and the large first quarter deficit proved to great for the Demons to make up.
The final score favoured the Penshurst, 10.16(76) - 8.11(59).
Caramut vs. Woorndoo-Mortlake
Caramut were dealt their third straight drubbing in the 2023 MDFNL with the Woorndoo-Mortlake Tigers claiming a 25.33(183) - 0.5(5) victory.
Captain, Damian Pemberton kicked five goals for the Tigers, while Rick Spokes, Brody Mifsud and Jesse Horan each slotted three.
Pemberton, Spokes and Mifsud were named in their team's best players alongside teammates, Tyler Fowler, Haydn Templeton and James Coghlan West.
Benjamin Makepeace kicked an eight-goal bag in Woorndoo-Mortlake's reserves side.