Sport
19 June, 2023
Bernie Vince dominates with eight goals in one-off appearance for Maryborough Rovers
It was a carnival-like atmosphere for Maryborough Rovers on Saturday at Jubilee Oval, with Bernie Vince taking over as the main act. The ex-Adelaide and Melbourne AFL player was dominant in all facets of Rovers’ 204-point triumph over Campbells...
It was a carnival-like atmosphere for Maryborough Rovers on Saturday at Jubilee Oval, with Bernie Vince taking over as the main act.
The ex-Adelaide and Melbourne AFL player was dominant in all facets of Rovers’ 204-point triumph over Campbells Creek, collecting 36 disposals and kicking eight goals in a showstopping display.
It was a day of celebration all-round for Rovers, as many past players came to celebrate the club in their last season, while co-captain Kieran Johns also celebrated his 100th game for the club.
Playing predominantly through the midfield in the first half, Vince was able to help set up many of Rovers’ attacking forays, which yielded six goals in the first quarter, before Rovers kicked eight in the second.
Vince’s first goal of the day was an excellent snap from 20 metres out, setting the crowd alight.
With Rovers leading by 86 points at the main break, Vince made the decision to go up forward for the second half, and that decision was vindicated by a five-goal burst during the third term, which included three goals in three minutes as he did what he pleased.
Perhaps the only knock on Vince’s game was his goalkicking — while he did kick eight goals, he also added nine behinds to go with that total.
Campbells Creek continued to try hard throughout the afternoon but they were simply no match for a Rovers outfit that lapped up a big crowd in their first game of the season at Jubilee, which included the likes of prominent football YouTuber Caden MacDonald, as well as popular Geelong figure Sam Moorfoot.
Alongside Vince, four players kicked four goals for the afternoon, with Mitch Whelan, Dylan Evans, Tyler Lewis and Tyson Randall lapping up Rovers’ delivery inside 50.
Evans, Lewis, Vince, Jacob Dyer, Montgomery Reeves and Johns were the best players for Rovers, while James Martinovic, Luke Bennett, Joel Wootton, Harley Muscat, Michael Dettmer and Benjamin Carson were named in Campbells Creek’s best.
For Vince, it was easily the best game anyone has played since the introduction of The Carlton Draft in 2022, which has seen the likes of Eddie Betts, Dale Thomas and Alex Rance — who played in the corresponding Carlton Draft game for Campbells Creek last season — and he was grateful for the introduction of the program to experience a day like Saturday.
“It’s all about the people, getting to the ground to see the juniors, the ground was full and there were cars parked outside, so it was unbelievable. To do that was obviously special to me as well,” he said.
“There were people everywhere, with many following me when we were kicking at both ends.
“Being from a small town myself, I get the community side of things, with a lot of volunteers and a lot of people that give a lot of time. If we can give a little bit back like today, it goes a long way.
“I think they were very happy with what happened. To have a big win like that, after not winning a game last year, it’s something special for the club.
“They would have made so much over the bar, and there were so many people in the rooms. It’s great to see them reap the rewards and make money for the club, when it’s so hard in modern times.”
Vince said fatigue was behind the decision to move up forward in the second half, having not played since 2019.
“I fatigued a bit after half time, so I said I needed to play forward, and that’s when I hit the scoreboard a bit,” he said.
“Joel (Radlof, Rovers coach) put me forward and put a few guys up the ground. It just worked our way, and the ball was also bouncing my way. Many of my shots on goal was just me being in the right place by crumbing the ball.
“I got whacked in the head a couple of times, a bit of a split lip and a little bit of blood. I’m a bit sore, but I hadn’t played for four years, so I was happy to get through the game and a bit relieved to not do my calf in the first 10 minutes.”
Vince also offered up a word for Campbells Creek’s part in the match.
“The Campbells Creek guys were great. I was chatting to anyone who came to stand me, and talking about their club. Of course, you don’t like seeing clubs get belted, but it can also show that it can turn around quickly. Rovers have been able to do it, so there’s no reason Campbells Creek can’t,” he said.
“It is hard to recruit coming off a hard year, but if they can pluck a few good players, which then attracts other players, and they start winning, things can happen quickly. From that country experience, it’s all about getting a couple of players there, and then it builds from there. The winning becomes infectious.”
Vince confirmed that with his media commitments growing, including stints on Triple M on Saturday afternoons and Fox Footy on Sundays, Saturday’s match would be his last, unless there was a similar program which got him back to help out a similarly struggling club.
“That’s it for me, unless it’s a program like this again. I work every Saturday and do The Saturday Rub on Triple M during the afternoons, so it’s basically impossible. But I’m happy and can go out like that, and I can say I had 36 disposals and eight goals for my last game,” he said.
After their success, Rovers currently sit just one game outside the top eight, and it will now be an interesting encounter on Saturday when they travel to Dunolly. Meantime, Campbells Creek face a difficult assignment when they welcome local rivals Harcourt.
