Sport
12 June, 2023
Learning moments for Magpies in Strathfieldsaye loss at home
Although Maryborough lost by 134 points to Strathfieldsaye on the weekend, there were times where the young Magpies were able to be competitive. But it was a slow start which saw the Magpies continuing to need areas for improvement, with the Storm...
Although Maryborough lost by 134 points to Strathfieldsaye on the weekend, there were times where the young Magpies were able to be competitive.
But it was a slow start which saw the Magpies continuing to need areas for improvement, with the Storm kicking eight goals to nil in the first quarter to end the game as a contest early on, opening up a 53-point margin at the end of the first change.
Maryborough had some encouraging moments in the second term, and opened up the scoring thanks to an excellent snap from Chris Freeman.
While Strathfieldsaye would respond with the next five goals, Maryborough’s pressure also meant that the Storm wouldn’t make full use of their opportunities, kicking seven behinds for the quarter.
At the other end, the Magpies got their second goal of the quarter thanks to Alex Gavriliadis, who was barrelled over and won a free kick by his Storm opponent.
It meant that the Magpies trailed the Storm by 78 points at the main break.
The third quarter belonged to Strathfieldsaye, who took full advantage of the slight breeze to record seven more goals from 13 shots, while Maryborough res-ponded in kind with two behinds. While the Magpies kept fighting hard, the margin was now sitting at 124 points at the last break.
The Magpies had an encouraging final term, kicking three goals. Firstly, Freeman was able to kick his second goal after an intelligent Jai Howell handball gave him an open goal.
Ten minutes later, a goalmouth scramble saw Jake Postle get to the ball first to soccer the ball off the ground.
Gavriliadis kicked his second goal of the game when Postle handballed a certain goal over to him to finish off what was a productive quarter for the Magpies, as they also held the Storm to four goals from 11 scoring shots.
While the eventual 134-point margin was a small improvement on their last meeting with the Storm, the last quarter will give the Magpies some confidence ahead of a meeting with eighth-placed Gisborne next week.
Matt Johnston was excellent around the ground, and was rewarded as Maryborough’s best player, while Jake Lohmann was also in the team for the afternoon, and played well across midfield. Rhys Egan was another who made a guest appearance and played well, while Luke Dunne, on debut, was also encouraging. Joel Swatton and Luke Guelen rounded out the best players.
Elsewhere, Maryborough’s reserves had an encouraging outing, kicking three goals as they fell by 81 points, while a nine-goal haul from Taj Bond stole the show as Maryborough recorded a 54-point win in the under 18s to remain two games clear of the top five.
