HAMPTON Park held its nerve better than Keysborough in the dying stages of their clash at the Rowley Allen Reserve on Saturday, running away to belatedly open its 2009 account with a 37-point victory.
The result leaves last season’s grand finalists on the bottom of the ladder without a win and matches against top five sides Doveton and Berwick in the next two weeks.
The Burra unveiled new recruit, former Carlton defender Darren Hulme, but lost key forwards Greg Walker and Tyson King before, putting all the goal-kicking onus on veteran spearhead Luke McGuinness.
The big full-forward did not let his team-mates down, booting two early goals to help his side to an 18-point lead at the first change.
Redbacks coach Josh Taylor swung his top defender Ryan Simpson on to McGuinness soon after and the visitors started to work their way back into the game.
There was only four points in it at half-time, but it was the Redbacks who came out and attacked the game better after the long break.
Shane Moffatt had an enthralling ruck battle with Burra big man Shaun Witherden, while Taylor and Kevin McLean created good targets in attack.
Hulme, Travis Skidmore and William Gayfer gave their all for the home side, but when the cracks started to appear, coach Greg Siwes had few options and the Redbacks took full toll, running away in the final term as the Burra stopped to a walk.
McGuinness finished the day with six goals to be one of his side’s few shining lights, while Hampton Park’s best included Matthew Dixon and youngster Brady White.
Taylor, who finished the day with five goals including one after the final siren, was a relieved coach after the game.
“Winning is so much better than losing,” he chuckled.
“I’m actually looking forward to training this week and I think the players will be too.
“Keysborough was good early, but they ran out of legs after half-time and we really lifted when we got a sniff.
“We know where we’re at, but we’re not playing a bad brand of football and this was a well-deserved win for the boys.”
Brave Seagulls go down
BERWICK overcame a sluggish start and a hard-running opponent to down Tooradin by 15 points in an entertaining game at the Western Port oval.
After an evenly fought first term the Wickers put the foot down to kick away by four goals in the second term.
However, Tooradin is not the house of cards it was last year and the home side dug deep on the back of midfielders Beau Miller, Rory Gilliatte, Chad Liddell and Michael Hobbs to hit back and trail by only four points at the half-time break.
Again it looked like the class of Berwick’s playmakers Jason Heath, Andrew Tuck, Kris Fowler and Jason Rahilly would overwhelm their opposition in the third quarter, but there was only a kick between the sides at the final change.
It was Berwick that showed the superior poise under pressure in the final term.
Big spearhead Grant Noonan was on target, finishing the day with 10 goals, while best afield Heath took complete control of the game at centre half-forward, marking everything and setting up a victory that secured the Wickers in fourth ladder position.
Tooradin ended the afternoon with more scoring shots than its opponents, but many of those were blazing misses from long range, with the Seagull midfielders obviously having a license to shoot from the 50-metre arc.
Positives for the winners included the successful return of big men Dale and Brett Robinson from long-term injuries, together with their accuracy at goal, but coach Glenn Dale said Tooradin had improved markedly from last year and it was a good win in the end.
“They’re a good team down there and they certainly surprised us,” he said.
“We were flat early. It’s probably the flattest we’ve been all year. Whether it was the three-week break or not, I don’t know.
“I was pleased with the way we finished the game and we didn’t get any more injuries out of it, so that was good.”
Cranny cruises to solid win
THE Casey Fields scoreboard indicated a hard day for ROC on the weekend, with Cranbourne giving the young Kangaroos a 69-point lesson after a spirited contest.
While the margin probably flattered the Eagles slightly, there was no doubting the class of the home side when the game was there to be won.
Cranbourne got off to a good start with key forward and captain Marc Holt on target and youngsters Max Gearon and Mich-ael Boland joining forces with Matt Thompson and Matt Fletcher to maintain supply into the Eagles’ forward half.
ROC runners Greg Tivendale, Scott Rossborough, Ash Comer and coach Kris Fletcher enjoyed the open spaces of the big ground, but were frustrated by a lack of potency in attack.
Persistence is a trait of the 2009 Kangaroos and half way throu-gh the third quarter ROC was only three goals down and had some momentum.
However two steadying goals to the Eagles put the game beyond the visitors’ reach and the match played out fairly predictably after that, with the home side cruising away to a comfortable win.
Holt, who had a slow start to the season, hit form with seven goals in a best-afield performance, while Ben Johnson joined Tivendale as the Kangaroos’ better performers.
Cranbourne coach Doug Koop was satisfied with the overall performance of his improving side.
“We were pretty solid. They are a danger side and I don’t think the scores reflected how close the game was,” he said.
“When you get a good start you should be able to hold sides out and that’s what we did. Last year we were very slow in some games and you have to play very, very good footy just to get back into the game if that happens.
“A good plus for us is that the kids are standing up when they get their chance.”
