In division three action of the Northern Football Netball League, NFNL, on Saturday, Reservoir were left with long faces after a thrashing by Kilmore who triumphed 17.17 (119) to 0.3 (3).
It was a slow first quarter at Crispe Park with scores 0.2 (2) to 1.3 (9) as Kilmore kicked the only goal, setting the scene for what many thought would be a low scoring game.
However, it was anything but as the Blues came out firing in the second quarter kicking nine goals and keeping Reservoir goalless.
Leading by 62 points heading into halftime, the Blues had found their momentum after coming off four losses in previous games prior to the bye.
In fact, Kilmore hadn’t won since May 27 against Lalor.
Kilmore continued its onslaught in the third quarter kicking another four goals as the Colts couldn’t put anything through the sticks as the Blues extended their lead to 92 points 14.11 (95) to 0.3 (3).
The old adage that ‘bad things come in threes’ proved true for Reservoir as it remained on three points for the remainder of the game, as Kilmore kicked another three goals to secure a 116-point victory.
Kilmore senior coach Paul Derrick said the side started off ‘very slow’ but shifted gears in the second quarter.
“We’re aware we played slow in the first quarter and then in the second we kicked 10.5 to put the game beyond doubt, which was good. The boys started playing some really good football,” he said.
“In the first quarter we played really slow and safe. Then we said to the boys to just take the game on in the second quarter and run. They did that and created a lot of opportunities, which was good.
“We wanted to move the ball fast and that was our whole focus – that’s why the first quarter was so disappointing.
“We started to run and since we’ve based ourselves on fitness for so long but we’ve never showed it much so it was good to finally show it especially with some huge games coming up.”
Derrick said the side had strong movement of the football around the field.
“It wasn’t just straight down the line stuff but we were looking for the switch and linking up by hand, which was really good,” he said.
“We were also putting ourselves in spaces to use the football, which is what we’ve been training to do for a while now and it finally came to fruition.”
Kilmore’s 16-year-old Ben Doyle had another great game kicking five goals in his third senior game of the season, supported by centre half-forward Aaron Speak who kicked three.
Defenders Chris Jackson and Bailey Derrick were strong in the backline.
“They just created a lot of run from there and used the footy really well,” Derrick said.
“Then we had Chris Barton who was sensational in the middle, kicking a couple of goals himself and getting a lot of the footy.
“Liam Monaghan probably played his best game of footy for the year too. He went into the midfield and took a lot of marks and moved the footy really well.”
Ethan Derrick also took a lot of marks around the ground and set up plays for the side.
This Saturday, Kilmore has a home game against Heidelberg West.
“We just want to win every game and play the best footy we can,” Derrick said.
“Just try win every game and who knows, if the cards fall well we might be able to pinch a fourth spot. If not, at least we know we’ve got something to do with them next year.”
In NFNL division one, Hurstbridge defeated Whittlesea 21.13 (139) to 7.7 (49).
The Eagles consistently hit the scoreboard each quarter but were unable to stop Hurstbridge’s run.
Christian Prestopino, with five goals, was voted best on ground, while Thomas Falls and Ethan Mann were also named in the best.
Whittlesea play Macleod this Saturday at home.
