Sport
11 July, 2024
Magpies and Dogs battle
After a week off due to the Bendigo Football Netball League’s (BFNL) interleague escapades, Maryborough will return to action this week to host Gisborne at Barker Oval Princes Park. The Magpies will have a firm challenge on their hands to stay...
After a week off due to the Bendigo Football Netball League’s (BFNL) interleague escapades, Maryborough will return to action this week to host Gisborne at Barker Oval Princes Park.
The Magpies will have a firm challenge on their hands to stay competitive with the Bulldogs, particularly after their six-point victory over the previously undefeated Sandhurst two weeks ago on their home deck at Gardiner Reserve.
But the Magpies should be buoyed from one of their better performances of the season in their last outing, where they kept Kangaroo Flat honest for a half, before eventually losing by 78 points.
The Magpies did at least get some improvement across the board in terms of scoring and being able to stop the Kangaroos from putting together a big score, even in torrid, wet conditions.
They were able to kick three goals in the opening term, and seven for the afternoon — their best return since round two.
Matt Johnston’s three-goal blitz helped the Magpies greatly during the first half as they trailed by 12 points at the first change, and 21 at half time, but he was not alone in giving Maryborough some spark for the afternoon.
Coby Perry underlined his class that helped him secure a spot in the BFNL’s team that played the Victorian Amateur Football Association last week, collecting a season-high 49 disposals, including 23 contested, along with 12 clearances and four tackles.
Alongside Perry, Joel Swatton showed his continued class with 23 disposals and 14 clearances, with their impact, as well as Seb Collins’ 47 hitouts, allowing the Magpies to win that stat across the balance of the afternoon, 56-53.
However, the defensive unit was under constant attack again two weeks ago, with the Magpies losing the inside 50 count 65-23, and disposals by 160, 411-251.
The Magpies will be hoping for an easier time of things after their round three clash earlier in the season saw the Bulldogs beat them by 258 points.
On that occasion, the Bulldogs were dominant in the middle two quarters, scoring 14 goals in the second quarter, before following that up with 12 in the third.
The Magpies simply had no answer to the Bulldogs’ star power, which included former AFL-listed player Pat McKenna, who kicked eight goals, as well as Harry Luxmoore, who kicked seven.
Johnston and Fraser Russell were the goalkickers for Maryborough, who were well-served on that afternoon by Tom Myers, Kya Lanfranchi, Alex Brown, Mitch McClure, Perry and Josh Britten.
The under 18s will also be hoping for a change of luck after they went down by 112 points two weeks ago to Flat.
However, their task will not be easy, with the Bulldogs inflicting the under 18s’ biggest loss of the season in their earlier meeting with a 163-point defeat.
Cooper Mark continued to lead from the front in their last game, while Jack Skinner, Judd Stevens, Joe Lovel, Brodie Quinlan and Sebastian Lambourn was also named in the best, with fill-in player John Corn kicking two goals for the Magpies.