Sport
1 August, 2022
Magpies no match for powerful Storm
Maryborough were unable to stop a relentless onslaught from second-placed Strathfieldsaye on the weekend, with 15 goals in the middle two quarters allowing the Storm to win by 139 points. The opening quarter saw the Storm take control early on and...
Maryborough were unable to stop a relentless onslaught from second-placed Strathfieldsaye on the weekend, with 15 goals in the middle two quarters allowing the Storm to win by 139 points.
The opening quarter saw the Storm take control early on and ensure that any vulnerability they might have had after losing to top side Gisborne last week would not be taken advantage of, as they scored six goals in the first quarter. Maryborough’s sole effort came through the returning Chris Freeman, who took a strong mark in the goal square before kicking truly.
Looking for a response, the Magpies got off to the perfect start in the second quarter as their first foray inside 50 saw Liam Latch kick a goal from an excellent snap shot to reduce the margin to 26 points.
Unfortunately, that was as close as the Magpies would get for the remainder of the afternoon. The Storm would kick seven goals on the trot to finish the quarter and ensure they would take a 73-point lead into the long change.
It was a tough third quarter for the Magpies as the Storm flexed their muscle, kicking eight goals while only allowing the Magpies to kick one behind as they opened up a 124-point lead at the final change.
Pleasingly for the Magpies though, they would have their most competitive quarter in the last quarter, as they prevented the Storm from grabbing more percentage in their battle with Golden Square for second on the Bendigo Football Netball League ladder.
The Magpies kicked two goals in the final quarter, with Patrick Chard kicking their first of the term after a strong mark inside 50 from a pinpoint Patrick Van Der Pol kick. That would be followed up towards the end of the game by Aiden Hare, who took a good mark running back with the flight of the ball into oncoming traffic, before calmly slotting the set shot.
While the Magpies were able to double their score, it was not quite enough for them to win the quarter, with Strathfieldsaye kicking four goals to eventually run out 25.17 (167) to 4.4 (28) winners.
While it’s doubtless the Magpies would have been disappointed to have been beaten by over 100 points again, the game represented a 70-point improvement on their last meeting, underlining the steady improvement the team is making.
Thomas Gardam, Hare, Riley Hamilton, Dylan Harberger, Liam Murphy and Liam Latch were named Maryborough’s best players for the afternoon.
The Magpies will now look ahead to a matchup with Sandhurst this weekend at Queen Elizabeth Oval.
