Cobras strike it easy

By Ken Moore
CORA Lynn turned what looked a danger game into a straightforward victory over Neerim Neerim South by 82 points on Saturday.
The Cobras played tight defensive football in the first half and showed their attacking sentiments in the second when they booted 12 goals and regularly cut holes through a porous Neerim defence.
Brendan Kimber was the principal driver for the Cobras through the middle and was aided and abetted by Ryan Davey, James Bradshaw and half-backs Joe Allen and Craig Taylor.
Chad Ingram did well in a run with role on Neerim dynamo Chris Urie and Michael Duiker was steady in defence.
Matt Davey replaced Ryan Donaldson, who injured his Achilles in the first half and sparked the Cobras with two third quarter goals and went on to boot four majors.
Importantly for Cora Lynn it has now opened up a six-percentage-point gap over third placed Catani that could come in handy if the Cobras drop the match points on offer against Nilma-Darnum in their round-18 blockbuster.
The Cats were well served midfield by Chris Urie and coach Dean Hendrickse.
Half-back Danny Sheehan gave his side good rebound, wingman Darren Ratten was prominent and Richard Christian, in his 200th game, gave a good account of himself.
Demons eye sixth
KOOWEERUP is back in contention for sixth place on the ladder and a finals berth after it beat Bunyip by 19 points.
The Demons won the match in the first quarter when they kicked six goals with the wind and kept the Bulldogs goalless.
Bunyip showed plenty of grit to reduce a half-time deficit of 42 points to only 19 at the final siren, but was never truly a winning chance.
Kooweerup took Bunyip by surprise by selecting coach Paul Williams in his first game for the season.
The hulking Williams roamed across centre half-forward and took a dozen marks and gave his midfielders a genuine target.
Matt Cameron shouldered the ruck work all afternoon and performed well, while Dan Mullin initiated many forward attacks.
Rhys Morgan was busy around the forward line, Ben Miller and Joel Brunn offered plenty of stingy defence and debutants, Hayden Watson and Darcy Robinson weighed in with some handy disposals.
Bunyip knuckled down after half-time and, led by ruckman Marc Rotunno, ruck-rover Michael Whyte and centreman Matt Stapleton, showed plenty of grit after the main break.
Chris Chilcott reinforced he was a player to watch after he steered through four goals, back-pocket Stuart Edwards was at his plucky best and youngster Sam Davies had a wonderful football lesson and stuck to his guns following Paul Williams around all game.
Blues too strong
FUELLED by a strong second half, Catani recorded a 51-point victory over Poowong.
The Blues only held a nine-point advantage at half-time and were lucky to lead because the Magpies were wasteful when they kicked only one goal from eight scoring shots with the wind in the second quarter.
It was a low scoring first half, primarily due to both teams flooding players back when they kicked into the wind.
Led by midfielders Josh Tymenson, Sean Pickering and Kaine Wedlock and with drive across half-back from Andy Stockx and Fiatupu Too Too, the Blues found their rhythm in the third quarter to open up a 28-point gap at the last change and finished the last quarter full of running with six goals.
Luke James kicked four goals and impressed when he had a run in the midfield and ruckman Paul Youle hit the packs hard and fed his smalls well. For Poowong, midfielders Matt Grant and Jarred Attenborough amassed the possessions and wingman Gavin Notman found plenty of the ball.
Dave Miller kept close tabs on Owen Fitzpatrick and lightly built tall youngster Ben Hancock took a number of good grabs in conditions not conducive to marking.
Tigers maul Saints
LANG Lang had a convincing 75-point victory over Nyora.
Tiger coach Clint Evans was the heartbeat of his side and had great support from half-back David Williams. Both used the ball creatively, as did Kurt Batt, who prowled across the forward line and had a run in the ruck and posed a constant menace.
Wingman Chris McCurdy and Aiden Brown were a driving force, ruckman Ben Boulton put in a sustained effort all game, Jason Kelly anchored the defence and Corey Dowson tagged Corey Wilson and stymied his usual output.
Nyora hard man Andrew Collis threw himself into the fray in the last line of defence and midfielders Adam Tagliaferro and Aiden Cumberland chased kicks all game.
Jake Orchard came up from the thirds and offered a strong performance around the forward line and defender Nathan Broadmore attacked the ball hard and made many interceptions.
Bankers salute
ELLINBANK crushed Buln Buln by 82 points.
The Bankers led by 52 points at half-time and did not let up in the second half.
The win now ensures Ellinbank will not have the ignominy of receiving the wooden spoon.
Toby Wallace kicked seven goals and was a thorn in the Lyrebird defence and midfielders Steve Ballingall, Mark Johnson and Kristian Bingham were prime movers all game.
Captain Jeremy Reid and fellow defender Peter Joyce, the latter in his 300th game, often repelled the best the Lyrebirds could offer and a newcomer Bernie Morris did some nice things in a good team effort.
Buln Buln ruckman Craig Kennedy offered strong resistance, winning heaps of tap-outs and taking many marks around the ground and midfielders Jamie Taylor and Mitch Nobelius all won more than their fair share of the ball.
The end of the season cannot come quickly enough for Buln Buln.