St Mary’s has overcome a gallant first-half challenge from Grovedale at Anthony Costa Oval to maintain its unbeaten start to the GFNL season.
The Saints led by ten points at half-time, but a five-goal burst midway through the third term that coincided with Brayden Ham’s move into the midfield turned the contest in the home team’s favour, as they claimed a 69-point victory, 21.9 (135) to 10.6 (66), and retained the Daniel Fletcher Shield.
“I felt like in the first half, and full credit to Grovedale, to be honest, they brought a super contest to the game, I thought, and a real one-on-one sort of mentality,” St Mary’s co-coach Luke Rayner told krockfootball.live
“And to the credit of their key backs, I thought they probably had the better of our key forwards.
“So, just the connection, I thought, from mid-forward was probably lacking a little bit in the first half.
“Tidy that up a little bit in the second half and just get a few different looks, and probably the game naturally opens up a little bit as well.
“Certainly, the second half, from a mid-forward connection point of view, was certainly better than what we were doing in the first half.”
One of the beneficiaries of the improved connection was Sam Bourke, who finished with five goals to take his season tally to 20.
Returning big man Trent McMullan contributed three goals, as did second-gamer Harry Segrave for the second consecutive week.
“He’s a real athlete, Harry,” Rayner said. “And he’s certainly raw from a footy sense.
“So he’ll continue to grow and develop.
“And with Ollie Flynn playing today, that’s our third out of our 18s from last year. So that’s really exciting.
“That hasn’t happened in my time, where they’ve been able to come up straight from our 18s into the senior ranks.”
Despite the final margin, Grovedale coach Jacob Spolding was keen to reflect on the positives.
“We came with a game plan to try and make it a contested game,” he said. “I felt like for the first half, we were able to do that.
“There were still a couple of times when, if the ball got to the outside, St Mary’s were able to transition the ball forward and score.
“But for the best part of the first half, we were certainly in the game and competed really well.”
Spolding conceded they could not go with St Mary’s when the home team made some adjustments after the main break.
“They changed a few positional things with their players, got them up and around the ball a bit more,” he said.
“We’ve still got some work to do, (but) we feel like our trajectory is going in the right direction,
“It’s a great standard of footy, the GFL, and they’re probably, if not the benchmark, right up there, and we’re able to compete for the best part of two and a half quarters across probably the four quarters today.
“There’s some positive signs, but at the end of the day, we go down by about 11 goals.
“So, yeah, still work to do.”
Leigh Ellis, Bailey McDonald, and co-captain Bailey McDonald each kicked two goals for Grovedale, with veteran ruck and reigning best-and-fairest Billy Ford named the Tigers’ best.
Newtown & Chilwell have made a significant claim to being a finals challenger following an upset 19-point win over Leopold at Elderslie Reserve.
In an impressive defensive effort, the Eagles over the two-time reigning premier 9.13 (67) to 7.6 (48).
Mitch Diamond and Ned Harris were outstanding, while Connor Fopiani was the most productive Towner in front of goal with a career-high four majors.
Connor Giddings kicked two goals for the Lions, who have dropped out of the top five.
South Barwon has run riot against North Shore, registering a 228-point win at Windsor Park.
The Swans put the foot down after half-time, kicking 12 goals in the third and fourth quarters, to claim a percentage-boosting 37.20 (242) to 2.2 (14) victory.
Captain Matt Caldow kicked seven goals, while joint 2023 Mathieson medallist Fraser Fort and Harry Cunningham contributed six.
Usual suspects Jacob Sammut, Connor Walmsley and Harry Purcell battled hard for the Seagulls.
St Joseph’s reminded St Albans of what is needed to compete with the competition’s best, as it posted an 83-point victory at St Albans Reserve.
In Ron Watt’s 200th match as a GFNL coach, Joeys proved too strong for the Supersaints, 23.13 (151) to 11.2 (68).
Paddy De Grandi put his hand up for a Geelong VFL recall with five goals, while Mitch Chafer and Oscar Morrison managed four apiece.
James Gow is again likely to be in the Mathieson Medal votes after another impressive midfield display.
Tom Higgins kicked three goals for St Albans to continue his bright start to his time at the club, while Sam Donegan was a standout in his return from injury.
Heath Shaw was the main attraction, but Lachie Horniblow stole the limelight with a 10-goal haul as Geelong West brushed aside Lara for a 104-point win in the twilight clash at West Oval.
The Giants had the contest in their keeping by quarter time, before claiming the four points with a 25.11 (161) to 9.3 (57) result.
Tom Gunther and Darby Henderson were best for the Cats, with the duo kicking two goals each.
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