By Ken Moore
POOWONG can kiss goodbye to its finals hopes after it was humbled by 61 points against Longwarry on Saturday.
The Magpies were competitive until half-time, but couldn’t withstand a seven-goal-to-one third-quarter onslaught by the Crows that has put their season back on track.
Tempers became frayed in the third term and fleet-footed Crow wingman Danny Wells was reported, but this appeared to fire Longwarry into action.
Beau Runnalls (seven goals) showed good ability to escape from opponents all game and got the visitors off to a dream start with four first-quarter goals and with Luke Serong (five goals) their footy smarts in tandem with their elusiveness regularly troubled the Poowong defence.
Midfield Beau Ridgeway, Tye Holland and Mark Light all stood up to be counted, relief ruckman Jason Voumard was prominent, 17-year-old Rhys Holland did well from limited opportunities and Ken Towt was his ever-reliable self in defence.
Poowong centreman Jarred Attenborough, pacy rover Barry Wyatt and halfbacks Mitch Cochrane and Gavin Nottman all came under notice for the home side.
While Poowong does not appear to have the artillery to make the finals, it may pose nuisance value for many teams before the season is out and could play a role in shaping the top six.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:Tough win for Blues
CATANI had to work hard to overcome Neerim Neerim South by 53 points.
The Cats were far more competitive than the scoreboard suggested. The Blues only led by 22 points at the last change, but widened the gap with a six-goal-to-one last quarter.
Catani marksman, Owen Fitzpatrick bagged eight goals and proved to be the difference between the two sides and in tandem with Luke James, who provided a handful of goal assists, the Blues had the two most potent forwards on the ground.
Nathan Ruskin was a pillar of strength at centre halfback, Fiatupu Too Too and Luke McFarlane drove the ball off the halfback line well and Sean Pickering, John Bolding and Andy Stocks provided the midfield engine room.
Aaron Alger tagged Neerim dynamo Chris Urie and kept him relatively quiet by his high standards.
In memory of club legend Bill Cumming, who passed away last Saturday, the Cats refused to take a backward step, but fatigued in the last quarter due to the pressure they applied over the first three terms.
Bill Cumming would have been proud of his son, Matthew, who gave it his all and got plenty of hard-ball gets, Ryan Muir repelled many attacks, Jack Halligan put his body on the line all game and wingman Aaron Hayes regularly pumped the ball forward.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:The Goon bankrupts Bankers
NAR Nar Goon took care of matters early against Ellinbank with a first-quarter 11-goal avalanche and went on to humiliate the Bankers by 168 points.
The Goon had a welter of good players led by wingman and Doveton recruit Dean Kelly, with strong support from Clint Williams, Ben Keane and Matt Stocco, who all provided tremendous rebound from the halfback line and through the middle.
Utilities Ben Scanlon (five goals) and Chris Jones (four) proved a thorn in the Ellinbank defence all game and Matt Wade sharked many disposals in the last line of defence in the second half when the Goon swung their team around.
On a near perfect day for football, Ellinbank disappointed and could muster only two goals for the entire game.
Coach Jeremy Reid and Ash Wallace offered some stout resistance in the back half, ruck-rovers Mark Johnson and Steve Ballingall went in search of the ball all day and Toby Wallace was the best of the Banker forwards.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:Bomber demolition
THE Nilma-Darnum juggernaut rolled on with a thumping 171 point win over Kooweerup.
The Bombers packed too many guns and put on a 16-goal clinic in the first half.
Hasan Kiki and Kael Bergles (seven goals apiece) finished off the good midfield work by ball magnet Jamie Cann, Allan Chandler, Kain Martin and Michael Mooney.
Aside from Jim Alexander and Joel Brunn, who both tried hard in tagging roles, and noteworthy efforts by key defender Craig Dyker and ruck-rover Rhys Morgan, Kooweerup supporters had little to be excited about.
The Demons kicked three goals in the opening ten minutes and things looked promising for the home side, but they could only manage another three for the rest of the match.
The Demons play lacked zing and it appears they are a long way off the better teams in the competition this season.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:Late lope by Lyrebirds
FUELLED by a strong finish Buln Buln defeated Nyora by 47 points.
The Lyrebirds saved their best for the last quarter when they produced an eight-goal term to turn a 12-point advantage at three-quarter time into a comfortable victory.
Che Jenkins stood out like beacon through the midfield and pumped the ball into the attacking 50-metre arc all game, ruckman Craig Kennedy was the catalyst behind many Lyrebird forward thrusts and Jim Taylor (three goals) was lively around the big sticks.
The McDonald brothers, Leigh and Grant split open the packs across the forward line and had a hand in creating a number of goals.
For Nyora, assistant coach Corey Wilson won a lot of the ball and kicked it well to position, Jake Hackett and Adam Tagliaferro made their presence felt midfield and ruckman Dan Morrison laboured hard all game.
Brendan Hodge held the last line defence together before he left the field in the last quarter with a dislocated shoulder. After playing finals football in four consecutive seasons and winning flags in 2006 and 2007, Nyora now find itself in unfamiliar territory in 13th place without a victory and will need to topple Ellinbank in round 11 to avoid the wooden spoon.
