Sport
4 August, 2022
Chance for competitive show against Dragons
After navigating a period where they had to play the top three sides within four weeks, Maryborough can now look ahead to ending the season on a positive note, starting with this week’s trip to Queen Elizabeth Oval to play Sandhurst. The Magpies...
After navigating a period where they had to play the top three sides within four weeks, Maryborough can now look ahead to ending the season on a positive note, starting with this week’s trip to Queen Elizabeth Oval to play Sandhurst.
The Magpies should be quietly confident of a competitive showing this week, but they’ll be looking to play four good quarters to do so. Last time out against Sandhurst in round seven, the Magpies were able to play three competitive quarters, but a 10-goal to one second quarter helped the margin blow out to 109 points — in the other three quarters, Maryborough were outscored by 49 points.
Last week, the Magpies were unable to compete with a Strathfieldsaye outfit looking to respond after being well-beaten by ladder-leader Gisborne.
It was a struggle for the Magpies on the stats sheet, beaten in most facets of the game. However, their pressure on the ball carrier proved to be quite good. Despite having 195 more possessions, Strathfieldsaye mustered 34 more inside 50s, and while the lack of possession does tell somewhat of a tale, the Magpies were able to lay 19 more tackles throughout the afternoon.
From an individual standpoint, there were three outstanding performances. Liam Latch had 44 disposals, nine clearances, seven tackles and five inside 50s as he did everything in his power to inspire his teammates. Meantime, Aidan Hare had 32 disposals, 11 tackles and nine clearances, while Thomas Gardam had 33 disposals and 14 marks.
The pressure of trying to make the final five means Maryborough will look to make an impact on the finals race over the last three games, with this week’s trip to Sandhurst followed by games against fourth-placed South Bendigo and fifth-placed Kyneton. A win in any of those games could dramatically shift the outlook of the Bendigo Football Netball League finals race, but more importantly, would allow the Magpies to taste victory for the first time this season.
Around the club, the Magpies’ under 18 side will face an important encounter against the table-topping Dragons. With a one-game advantage in fifth, the Magpies will look to play as well as possible ahead of winnable clashes against bottom side South Bendigo and second-bottom Kyneton in their final two games, which will decide their finals fate.