BIRCHIP-Watchem have continued to stake their claim as the North Central team to beat, with an emphatic 39-point win over third-placed Donald in wet conditions at the weekend.
It was the Bulls’ ninth win of the season and their second of the year over the Royal Blues, the 11.18 (84) to 6.9 (45) result maintaining their two-point advantage over Sea Lake Nandaly atop the ladder.
After a tight first half, which had the Bulls up by 13 points, the ladder leaders kicked clear.
Birchip-Watchem coach Trevor Ryan was happy with his team’s performance after half-time.
“We had to adapt to the conditions, which we did in the second half where we were a little bit better than we were in the first half,” Ryan said.
“(Donald) played some really good footy in the first half, their pressure was really high and they have some good players that can cause you some issues when they get their hands on the ball, but we just persevered.
“We managed to play the game a little bit more in our forward half after half-time and we just made the most of our opportunites when we could.
“Our ability to win contested footy at stoppages was probably a key difference and that was due to Hamish (Hosking’s) influence as a ruckman.
“He was really strong in getting the ball down our way and our mids were really good, but our back six just stood up a little bit better than theirs did. They missed Trent Grant as a forward but our back six were pretty good.”
The only downside for the Bulls was a late game ankle injury to half-back Dale Hinkley, which prompted a reshuffle moving centre half-forward Joe Reid to defence.
Reid was a key contributor up forward in the first half and kicked three goals, with Ben Edwards booting four goals to stay atop the North Central goalkicking table.
While Hosking, Reid and midfielder Nick Rippon were named among Birchip-Watchem’s better players, it was a pair of developing young Bulls who earned special praise from Ryan.
“I was rapt with our kids to be honest,” Ryan said.
“Young Charlie Frank who’s played a handful of senior games was our best player, he played a role in our back six where he was really solid.
“He read the flight of the ball and attacked it really well and was clean below his knees in those conditions, he made good decisions with it and gave us a lot of drive out of our defensive 50.
“Ty Colbert was another young fella who was really good up forward for us as well.”
Despite the loss, Donald maintained third spot, with defender Jesse Wallin one of their better players due to his ability to read the play and intercept mark in defence.
Midfielder Ryan Hards was another key contributor and was Donald’s leading contested-ball winner, while ruckman Josh Potter, Tom Heuston, Daniel Pearce and Jamie Papalia were also named in the best.
Sea Lake Nandaly extended their winning streak to six straight games to remain within striking distance of Brichip-Watchem at the top of the ladder with a 59-point win over Wedderburn.
After Redbacks coach Tom Metherell kicked the first two goals, it was all one-way traffic, with the Tigers kicking 12 of the next 13 to run away comfortable 12.14 (86) to 4.3 (27) winners.
Josh Jenkins kicked five goals in a strong performance from the key forward in wet conditions, with Wade Donnan, Bryce Delmenico, Thomas Cox and Adam Pattison among the Tigers’ better players. Joe Lockhart, Jayden Jones and Mitchell Mcewen were best for Wedderburn.
The Redbacks fell from the top four, as Wycheproof-Narraport moved up through their 17-point win over St Arnaud.
After holding an eight-point half-time lead, the Demons kicked clear with a four-goal-to-one third term before eventually holding on to win 9.11 (65) to 7.6 (48), after the Saints fought back with four final-quarter goals.
Boort recorded their fourth win of the season with a 51-point win over Charlton, a four-goal second quarter helping set up the 11.9 (75) to 3.6 (24) victory.
Jhye Baddeley-Kelly, Tom Potter and Matt Austin were the better players for Boort, with Mitchell Collins, Sam Woods and Rhyen Woods the best for Charlton.
