By Colin MacGillivray
WALLAN tops the Riddell District Football Netball League senior ladder after an impressive 146-point win against the Western Rams on Saturday, which could have been greater if not for inaccuracy in front of goals.
The Magpies, playing their first home game of the season, came out with the intention of denting the Rams’ confidence early after the Rockbank-based side got off to promising starts in its first two matches.
Wallan achieved its aim by holding the visitors scoreless in the first quarter and leading 100-7 by half time, going on to win 24.24 (168) to 3.4 (22).
Assistant coach Spencer Mathieson said while an inaccurate 9.14 in the second half was the only blemish on Wallan’s day, the condition of the ground played a part.
“We were on the bottom ground at Greenhill because the main ground is getting resurfaced, and none of the players would have played a senior game there before,” he said.
“In the end we’ve had 48 shots, so you’ve got to be happy with that, and our efficiency in our forward line was a lot better than what it has been in the first two weeks.
“When we got it in there we actually scored, which was a positive.”
Recruit Michael Baccari played his best game so far for Wallan, kicking five first-half goals and six for the day in a standout performance.
Also impressive were Sean Morris, who kicked four goals ranging across half forward, defender Brenton Cox, and a dominant midfield unit that included reigning Bowen medallist Steven Boyall and wingmen Jordan Port and Josh Vilinskis.
With 14 senior debutants already blooded this season, Mathieson said Wallan had scope to improve as the season wore on.
“We’re getting better every week. The longer we play together the better everyone will get. It takes a bit of time, but you can’t fault the way they played at the weekend,” he said.
The Magpies will travel to play Macedon on Saturday in a game Mathieson said would test them.
“Macedon finished top four last year and they’ve had a hard start to the season playing the two grand finalists,” he said.
“They played pretty well against Diggers Rest and we know they’re hard to beat at home, so we have to bring our best footy to get the result. I’m pretty confident we can do it.”
Romsey was also among the weekend’s winners, downing Melton Centrals in an impressive 13.9 (87) to 9.4 (58) display.
The Redbacks trailed by five points at quarter time but comprehensively outplayed the home team thereafter, kicking 12 goals to seven for the rest of the match.
Full forward Jack Jedwab kicked a bag of seven goals to lead the Romsey charge, while captain Nathan Blair was his usual dominant self, kicking two goals from the midfield.
Also impressing were Nathan Rayment, Darcy Lockens, Mitch Adamson and Corey Pertzel.
Lancefield made a promising start against 2022 grand finalist Diggers Rest, trailing by only two kicks at half time, but was overpowered in the second half to lose 6.3 (39) to 16.18 (114).
A four-goal second term was an encouraging sign for the young Tigers, who benefited from strong performances by half back Lukas Fellows, half forward Lachy Giles, and midfielders Riley O’Meara and Michael Conlan.
Full forward Jack Radford was the only Lancefield player to kick multiple goals, notching two.
The Tigers will return home this weekend to host Melton Centrals, while Romsey will also be back at Romsey park for a tough match-up against reigning premier Riddell.
