LEITCHVILLE/GUNBOWER remains second on the Heathcote District Football Netball League ladder following a 29-point win against Huntly.
Trailing by five points at the main break, the two-time grand finalists kicked 10 goals to five in the second half to win their 12th match of the season.
Huntly held a 13-point lead at the opening break after an entertaining first quarter that was essentially divided into two halves.The first 15 minutes had been an arm wrestle with no goals scored, with plenty of physicality and errors galore as both defences stood firm and the umpires demonstrated that they would be in control of play with some rapid decisions that kept the play moving.
The Hawks broke the deadlock through Brady Dickens and this signaled the beginning of the scoring part of the first term.
Five goals followed in the next 10 minutes – three to the hosts and two to the Bombers through Ollie O’Shea and Lee Pollock, playing his 300th senior match.
Huntly made the running with Ryan Semmel prominent and the vigourous play of Davidson catching the eye off the full back line.
That the Bombers were only 13 points down was due in part to some of their younger players such as Jackson McEwen, Brady Hore and Logan Prout in defence, as well as the sweeping efforts of Brad Ladson, whose usual stealthy accumulation of possession was far more noticeable on the big Huntly ground.
The second term saw the Bombers start well, with a goal to Tim Lincoln, and with Jack Dye and Matt Perri also shrugging off their hard tags to score, the Bombers had drawn level by the 11-minute mark.
Ayden Walton’s massive bump on Rhett Sutton saw the Huntly ruckman forced from the ground and allowed Michael Pilcher and Pollock to dominate at the stoppages, creating more opportunity for the visitors’ onballers.
Consecutive goal to Dickens challenged the Bombers, who again drew level with goals to Mitch McEwen and Matt Pollock.
A late goal to defender Davidson gave Huntly the half-time lead – only the second time this season Leitchville/Gunbower had trailed at the main break.
Wasting no time, the Bombers got rolling in the second half with key forwards Perri, Walton and Dye all continuing to present and the goals flowed.
The Bombers hit the front for the first time in the match and with a lift in tackling intensity, harassed their bigger opponents all over the ground and opened up a 19-point lead.
Daniel Coates and Adam Deciccio were important contributors for the Bombers – Coates’ run and carry and Decicio’s elusiveness and tackling pressure a feature.
The Bombers looked well on top. Shaun Turvey had put the clamps on Semmel’s output around the stoppages which had a noticeable effect on the Hawks’ ability to attack.
A couple of defensive errors derailed the Bombers’ momentum and the Hawks capitalised with a couple of quick goals.
Tom Patterson added another major right on the siren to bring the margin back to one point at the final break and give momentum back to the hosts.
Matt Hawken implored his players to demonstrate their perceived superior fitness and run the game right out, sensing that the Hawks had spent considerable reserves catching the Bombers.
Perri got the Bombers rolling only for the Hawks to respond, and it looked like the game could go down to the wire.
Hawken’s assessment of the teams’ relative fitness proved accurate as the Bombers’ pace began to tell. Perri added his fourth major, Pollock capped of his day with a strong mark and goal, Mitch McEwen eluded two opponents for another before Deciccio mesmerised the Hawks defence, snapping truly on his left for the goal of the day.
Dye finished the Bombers’ scoring with his third goal seeing the visitors home by 29 points.
The win sets the Bombers up well for their top of the ladder clash this weekend against the undefeated North Bendigo.
