By Brad Kingsbury
ROC went down to ladder leaders Narre Warren by 29 points in a competitive contest at Starling Road on Saturday.
The Kangaroos’ accuracy in front of goal was a key component to the effort with the ’Roos forwards converting 15 of their 21 shots at goal to majors.
However, had the Magpies been on target and turned a few of their 17 behinds into goals, the margin would have been far greater and probably more reflective of the game.
Put simply, Narre Warren was too good across the ground.
The first term set the scene with the Magpies having seven more shots at goal, but leading by only seven points at the first change.
Kangaroo Michael Barker kept leading goalkicker Lee Clark in check and Brad Jones held Brett Evans goalless. However Magpie midfielders including Shane Brewster, Michael Collins and Ricky Clark booted 10 goals between them to take up the slack.
Narre Warren held sway by only four points at halftime, but moved away in the second half, thanks largely to its versatility with up to 10 players rotating through the midfield and wearing ROC down.
Kangaroo coach Hayden Stanton admitted as much after the match and said his team had to learn how to compete with all comers or risk falling out of the finals’ race.
“When they put the pressure on we just didn’t have the players to stop them,” he lamented.
“Michael Barker did a great job on (Lee) Clark, but it robbed us of one of our best runners. They hurt us through the midfield. Players like (Shane) Brewster, Kimber and Collins play tall, but rotate through the midfield and set up really well for them. That will be hard for any team to stop this year.
“We just can’t beat the teams above us at the moment.”
His Narre Warren counterpart, Aussie Jones said ROC’s pressure was good all day.
“It was a bit of an arm wrestle and ROC was hard at it. Both sides butchered the ball a bit and there was some ugly footy, but we’ll take a fivegoal win any day,” he said.
“We missed some easy goals, but they put pressure on and didn’t let us have the freedom in the forward line.”
Jones singled out best on ground Shane Brewster for special praise.
“To kick seven goals playing on the ball is a super return,” he said.
“He’s just so fit and does extra work at training to maintain that. He’s been great for us this year.”
Little legs, big hearts: Emerald Rotary Club and Puffing Billy raise...
The Emerald and District Rotary Club teamed up with Belgrave's Puffing Billy Railway to raise a whopping $41,000 for Monash Children’s Hospital, all thanks...
