CALIVIL United have blown the race for fifth spot wide open by defeating Inglewood by 55 points in a dominant display from the Demons on Saturday.
The 16.12 (108) to 8.5 (53) result was the Demons’ second win of the season and sees them now sit just one win behind the Blues, who prior to Saturday’s loss looked a lock to finish fifth on the Loddon Valley ladder.
Ben Baker (four goals) and senior coach Anthony Dennis (three goals) were the difference for the Demons, who exploded in the second quarter with seven unanswered goals.
An was an impressive display from Calivil United, who will this Saturday face Newbridge in what is now a must-win game for Dennis and his team.
“It was a very pleasing win, especially after the last two weeks we’ve played two of the better teams in Marong and Serp (Bears Lagoon-Serpentine),” Dennis told the Gannawarra Times post-match.
“We’ve fought on hard in both games and played some decent footy but we’ve just let ourselves down with our second halves so it was pretty pleasing to play four consistent quarters with 22 contributors.
“We probably let the first game of the season slip against Maiden Gully, but we said at the start of the year if we can push for that fifth spot it means that the club’s going forward on the field.
“(Saturday’s win) keeps us in good stead but we’ve got another crucial game this week and then we’ve got Bridgewater to round out the first half of the season.
“If we can put in two good performances against them and go into the halfway mark with a bit of confidence, then who knows what the second half of the year will hold for us.
“We’ll get a few players back over the next three weeks which will help, and if we can stay reasonably fit we should be right.
“If we can get a consistent team on the park for three or four weeks in a row instead of having three or four forced changes every week like we have been, then I think that will help us play even more consistent footy.”
While it was a strong performance from Calivil United, it was a disappointing result for Inglewood, who face a difficult fortnight ahead with games against Pyramid Hill and Marong.
Sam Maher was instrumental in the midfield for the Demons, along with Dennis, with Maher’s clearance work and clean hands around the stoppages helping to highlight the differences between the two teams.
“I felt we were cleaner around the contest and with our spread and numbers around the ball,” Dennis said.
“It was one of those days where everything went right and we took our chances in front of goal, but the second term was the catalyst: we had 12 scoring shots and blew the game wide open then.”
Along with Sam Maher and Dennis, the Demons were also well served by Jack Maher, Cameron Ilett and Darcy Thompson, while the Blues’ better players were Daniel Polack, Thomas Kennedy and Mitchell Conlan, who finished the game with three goals and a strong display at centre half-forward.
While the Demons may have caused the weekend’s biggest upset, the rest of round 6 went according to plan, with Marong, Bears Lagoon-Serpentine and Pyramid Hill all recording big wins over Maiden Gully-YCW, Mitiamo and Newbridge.
The Panthers were the biggest of those winners, recording a 158-point win over the Eagles, who were held goalless until the final quarter of the match.
Marong had 14 individual goal kickers in the 24.22 (166) to 1.2 (8) rout, with Ryley Taylor (four goals) and Kyle Manley (three goals) leading the way for the reigning premiers.
Josh Mellington continued his incredible goalkicking form for Bears Lagoon-Serpentine by kicking 13 goals in the Bears’ 79-point win over Mitiamo, with Mellington moving 29 goals clear at the top of the goal-kicking leaderboard with his 70th goal of the season in the 19.17 (131) to 8.4 (52) win.
The final match of the round saw an equally dominant performance from Pyramid Hill, who defeated Newbridge by 85 points – 16.22 (118) to 5.3 (33) – with Zach Alford, Tom McGregor, Steven Gunther and Bailey George among the better players for the Bulldogs.
