Nullawil has climbed back into the top four with just two rounds remaining after a come-from-behind six-point win over a determined Boort on the weekend.
The Maroons returned to fourth on the North Central ladder after Wedderburn suffered a 45-point loss to Birchip-Watchem, with Nullawil and Wedderburn set to do battle this Saturday at Donaldson Park in a match that will most likely decide fourth spot.
The Maroons were made to earn the four points against Boort, with the Magpies taking an eight-point lead into three-quarter time and looking like a winning combination at the final break.
Nullawil had different ideas however, with the Maroons fighting to get the margin back to level pegging late in the final quarter before Andrew Casey iced the game deep into time on with a left foot goal, giving the home side a 16.13 (109) to 16.7 (103) victory.
It was a must-win result for Nullawil, and coach Darryl Wilson was pleased with his side’s determination.
“They (Boort) probably should have won, we dug deep late and probably stole it in the end,” Wilson said.
“They pushed the margin out to a couple of goals and held that lead for a fair bit of the last quarter, in the end we were probably fortunate to get the result.
“We had a lot of opportunities and we didn’t kick into our forward 50 that well, but we ground it out which was pleasing.
“We’ve got a lot of people not playing and it’s sort of hurting us with the depth and the rotations, but the boys are having a go.
“We’ll get a couple more back in next week, which will be good.
“Jack Excel will come in and Dean Smith will come back into the midfield as well and they will be handy.
“Our midfielders kept working, but they (Boort) have a really strong midfield and they were probably on top of us for a large chunk of the game.
“Matthew Wade was really good late, but there were a few guys that stepped up. We only had one on the bench which hurt, we just had to rely on who was on there and we sort of went for broke and got over the line.”
Among the Maroons better players were midfielders Matthew Wade, Rylee Smith and Daniel Watts, while ruckman Dean Putt and forward Adam Thomson, who kicked a game high six goals.
Jordan Humphreys was another key contributor for the home side, with Humphreys returning for his first game back since suffering an injury against Sea Lake Nandaly in Round 5.
Although Boort’s push for a finals berth has now officially come to an end, the Magpies were still well served by Keiren Wilson, James Keeble, Tom Potter, Jhye Baddeley-Kelly and Jarrod Fitzpatrick.
The victory by the Maroons sets up a must-win game against Wedderburn this Saturday after the Redbacks went down to Birchip-Watchem by 45 points on the weekend.
Ben Edwards was once again the star up forward for the Bulls, with the spearhead kicking seven goals for the match and taking his season tally to 90 in the 11.14 (80) to 5.5 (35) win.
The result sees Birchip-Watchem remain on top of the North Central ladder, two points clear of Sea Lake Nandaly, who recorded a comfortable 96-point win over St Arnaud on the weekend.
The Tigers kicked 16 of the first 17 goals of the game, with the Saints managing just one goal for the first three quarters before finishing the match full of running with three last quarter goals.
Josh Jenkins led the way up front for the visitors with eight goals for the game, with Wade Donnan, Tyson McKenzie and Brody Weir also among Sea Lake Nandaly’s better players.
The final match of the round also went according to the script, with third placed Donald registering a 58-point victory over winless Charlton on Saturday.
The Royal Blues took home the four points 15.13 (103) to 7.3 (45), with Noah Berry kicking a game high seven goals for Donald, with the win guaranteeing a top four finish for the Donald.
