Wet and windy conditions made it a difficult game for Wallan and Romsey at Greenhill Reserve on Saturday.
The Magpies came away with the victory 11.6 (72) to Romsey’s 6.8 (44) after taking the lead in the first quarter and maintaining it for the rest of the game.
Wallan assistant coach Spencer Mathleson said the side started well and played to the conditions.
“It was really wet and windy. We adapted well to the conditions and played pretty well. It was probably our best four quarter performance for the season,” he said.
“We’re happy with how we went, especially against Romsey who are a pretty good side. It’s great to have another win.”
Going against the wind Wallan kicked four goals in the opening quarter keeping Romsey to one.
The already tough conditions were exacerbated by pelting rain in the second quarter. Wallan continued to convert in their forward 50 kicking another three goals.
Romsey’s scoring efforts were better in the second quarter going against the wind, kicking two goals to bring the game to within 25 points.
The third quarter saw Wallan remain scoreless as they went back to battling the tough winds.
Romsey took advantage of the conditions narrowing the score to within two goals.
“It wasn’t a windy as the week before but it was windy to the same end,” Mathleson said.
“Romsey kicked with the wind in the first quarter and in the third although we didn’t score, Romsey only had five scoring shots for the quarter which was a positive for us.
“We kept them to two goals which was pretty good for the day.”
The Redbacks were unable to catch the Magpies who soared into the fourth taking full advantage of the wind, playing to the conditions and kicking another four goals.
Romsey kicked two but it wasn’t enough with Wallan emerging with a 28-point victory.
“From the week before we just probably didn’t adapt to the conditions as well as Riddell did, so we needed to address that this week. It was quite a coincidence it was a windy game and we adapted a lot better,” Mathleson said.
“Plus when the rain came we didn’t over possess the ball so we know that it was a much better, smarter game we played this week than the week before.”
Wallan’s Hayden Gill played centre half-forward and kicked three goals for the side, while coach Justin Sherman kicked three for Romsey.
Mathleson said along with Gill, forward Jordan Port, Angus Love and Callum Langborne down back were also solid for the Magpies.
“We had a lot of good players. When you play well and win usually you have a lot of good players like this week,” he said.
Wallan have another home game Saturday against Macedon and the side hope to continue its momentum from this week.
“We just want to make sure that we’re consistent. We’re a young team and consistency can fluctuate so we’ve just got to make sure we’re consistent again and hopefully we get the results we want again,” Mathleson said.
Romsey have a bye this weekend.
Lancefield
It was a tough game on the road for Lancefield on Saturday, with the Tigers losing to Melton Centrals 3.7 (25) to 9.5 (59).
Lancefield were scoreless in the first quarter while Melton kicked four goals, leaving the Tigers trailing by 25-points heading into the second quarter.
Melton’s run slowed in the second quarter, only kicking one goal, while Lancefield managed to get onto the scoreboard for the first time with three scoring shots.
The third and fourth quarters remained tough for Lancefield who just couldn’t catch Melton with their lead extending to six goals at the end of the third quarter before winning by 34-points.
Among the best players for Lancefield were Ollie Bryant, Michael Conlan, Lachlan Mitchell and Ned O’Connell.
Lancefield have a home game Saturday against Diggers Rest who are currently sitting undefeated on top of the ladder.
