ON a windy day Nar Nar Goon worked hard in the first half against top team Nyora.
Lucas Thomas and Simon Sweeney were getting a lot of possessions in the midfield and Liam Linley and Allan McArthur stopped many of Nyora’s forward attacks, but it was Clint Sheedy at full forward who kept Nar Nar Goon in the game with all four of the team’s goals. The difference was 24 points at halftime.
Coach Pat Henwood tried to lift his players and they came out and kicked the first goal of the second half through Tom Arnold. But skill errors let the Goon down and Nyora skipped to a fivegoal threequartertime lead.
Nyora then ran away in the last quarter, kicking seven goals. The Goon kicked two goals through Sheedy, who finished with seven.
Scores: Nyora 19.20.134 d Nar Nar Goon 8.10.58.
Best: C. Sheedy, L. Thomas, P. Delosa, L. Linley, S. Sweeney, A. McArthur.
RESERVES
Kicking with a strong wind in the first term the Goon could only manage 1.7.
The Goon played teamoriented football in the second term. Ian Graham, Nathan Vugs and Seamus Scanlon were solid across the back line.
Jarrod McMullen, Leigh Noonan and Nathan Brown were controlling the centre and forward lines. The Goon kicked three goalsto two ans ended the quarter with an 18point lead.
In the third quarter the Goon played some of their best football for the year, kicking five goals and keeping Nyora to one point.
Matt Stocco, up from the under 17s, relished a run in the forward line, kicking two goals, as did Leigh Noonan. When Wayne Mannix kicked his first the Goon had a 50point threequartertime lead.
One goal each by both teams in the last quarter gave the Goon a 47point win.
Scores: Nar Nar Goon 10.12.72 d Nyora 3.7.25.
Awards: L. Noonan, S. Scanlon, M. Stocco, N. Vugs.
UNDER 17
Nar Nar Goon started with the wind in perfect ground conditions and kicked three goals for the opening quarter. Phil Hicks and Daniel Cairns got plenty of possessions. In the second quarter against the wind the Goon managed one goal but the strong defence kept Nyora scoreless. Matt Stocco continued his good form but Matt Keane was forced from the ground with illness and Phil Hicks left the field with a cut across the eye.
In the third quarter Nyora stacked their defensive zone and restricted Nar Nar Goon to three goals. Kicking against the wind in the last quarter, the Goon played its best football, Nigel Benn showing his style by taking two sensational marks and kicking three goals.
A disciplined and committed approach by the Goon held top spot on the ladder.
Scores: Nar Nar Goon 12.13.85 d Nyora 1.1.7. Goals: N. Benn, D. Cairns 4, M. Keane, J. Surace, M. Slattery, A. Tocknell 1. Awards: M. Slattery, D. Cairns, M. Stocco, M. Wade, B. Kent, J. Hodson.
UNDER 15
Strong winds were not the only thing the Goon fourths had to counter against Nyora on Saturday. At the opening bounce the Goon was stunned by the flooding tactics of the Saints, only one player lining up in the Nyora forward line.
This led to a scrappy opening term, but sharpshooter Nathan Van Steensel broke the game open with two goals within a minute. The second quarter was just as scrappy and the Goon defence did a sterling job to keep Nyora goalless into the wind, including Ben Walsh, Jamie Grieves and Matt Damon.
Nick Fromhold dominated the third term, kicking a goal to open the scoring the then laying others off to Rhys Edwards and Josh Keane. Captain Brent Hughes was typically team oriented and the twin towers of Travis Simpkin and Steve Marson battled well in conditions that better suited the running players.
Scores: Nar Nar Goon 7.8.50 d Nyora 0.6.6. Goals: Nathan Van Steensel 3, Nick Fromhold 2, Rhys Edwards, Josh Keane 1. Awards: $10, Brent Hughes; $10, Nick Fromhold; $5, Jamie Grieves; Bubba’s Pizza, Ben Walsh; NNG Pizza, Nathan Van Steensel; socks, Travis Simpkin; Hungry Jack’s, Steve Marson; canteen, Matt Damon.
UNDER 13
Nyora won the toss and kicked with a gale. Nar Nar Goon worked well against the breeze and scored through a great snap from Jordan Riley. The Nyora youngsters made the most of the wind to lead at the first change by four points. Coach Dale Evans asked his players to kick long in the second quarter and they added three goals through Sam McPhee, Mitch Campbell and Steve Pimm with first gamers Ben Draper and Jordan Mosley also playing well.
The Goon dominated after halftime, adding a further five goals through Campbell, McPhee, Pimm, Van Boxtel and Evans.
Score: Nar Nar Goon 9.15.69 d Nyora 2.1.13. Goals: S. McPhee, M. Campbell, S. Pimm 2, J. Van Boxtel, J. Riley, Will Evans 1. Best: S. Pimm, X. Manson, C. Brereton, J. Cribbes, S. McPhee.
A meeting for all under13 players and parents will be held at 6.30pm in the clubrooms tomorrow.
CLUB NOTES
On Saturday, 6 August the football club and netball club present Burning Love at the Nar Nar Goon Community Centre at 7pm. Tickets cost $35 a head, which includes a threecourse meal (BYO), and are available from Julie Crawford or Maisie Noonan.
