By Colin MacGillivray
WALLAN’S senior footballers avoided a week-two let-down against Melton Centrals, while Lancefield showed it will no longer be a Riddell District Football Netball League easybeat in an entertaining match against Woodend-Hesket.
The Magpies followed up their 13-point round one win over Romsey with a convincing 12.9 (81) to 7.4 (46) triumph against the Blues in a contest that was all but over by half time.
Wallan led by three goals at the first change and used hard running and precision ball use in the second term to build a 39-point advantage.
While Melton Centrals rebounded to slightly outscore the visitors in the second half, they were unable to find their way back into the game.
Wallan assistant coach Spencer Mathieson credited the Magpies for taking care of business against a tricky opponent.
“They surprised us and beat us a couple of years ago, so we knew we had to play well to win, which we did,” he said.
“Our second half probably wasn’t as good as our first half, but you have to give Melton some credit for that.
“We won the first quarter by three goals and we were pretty good with our ball use in the second quarter. We made the ground big and spread and ran, which is our asset.”
Mathieson said ruckman Patrick Mahoney was best afield, with Sean Morris, Jacob Langborne, Corey Viani, Steve Boyall and Hayden Gill also producing strong showings.
Langborne slotted three goals, while Jake Layley, Mason Bowden and Michael Baccari had two apiece.
Debutant Riley Evans set the tone for the win with a courageous piece of play that drew praise from Mathieson.
“Playing his first game, he went back with the flight, took an intercept mark and there was a clash of heads,” Mathieson said.
“He ended up with a slight fracture to his eye socket and went to hospital, but he really set the standard for how we want to go about it. It was just an unfortunate accident.
Wallan will play its first home game this weekend against the Western Rams, who look to have improved after a winless wooden spoon campaign in 2022.
Tigers show claws
Lancefield is another team that appears improved from last season, notching 31-point loss to Woodend-Hesket in its first game of the year.
The Tigers led by three goals at half time but faded after the long break, but should still take plenty of confidence from the result against a team that was in the finals mix last year.
Joel Regan was a target for the Tigers with three goals, while half forwards Lachlan Giles and Ben Bryant kicked two each in the 13.8 (86) to 18.9 (117) loss.
Onballer Zach Webb was Lancefield’s best performer, with backman Lukas Fellows also impressing.
Lancefield’s next test will be against 2022 grand finalist Diggers Rest at Bloomdale Oval on Saturday, while Romsey will return from a bye to play Melton Centrals.
Netball
Wallan’s A Grade netballers posted their second win from as many games on Saturday, seeing off a challenge from Melton Centrals.
Goal attack Rebekah Konstantopoulos was on target, missing only twice in 24 shot attempts, while shooter Maeve Donegan led the side with 27 goals.
Magpie goal defence Amanda Rothwell-Hiscock harassed her opponent into a much less efficient outing as the home side shot a collective 67 per cent.
Wallan will host the winless Western Rams in round three.
Lancefield, meanwhile, will look to bounce back from a 27-53 loss at the hands of 2022 grand finalist Woodend-Hesket when they play Melton Central on the road.
The Tigers were able to try several combinations in the loss, with three players registering goals.
