THE local teams in the Riddell District Football Netball League had a tough weekend, with Wallan, Lancefield and Romsey all losing its senior men’s matches.
Wallan’s loss was its first of the season, losing to the unpredictable Melton South.
The Magpies opened up well enough to take a three-point lead going into the first change, 16-13, but it was all Melton South in the second quarter, kicking three goals to one to take a 10-point lead at the main change, 33-23.
The Panthers then kicked away in a high-scoring third quarter, kicking five goals to four to increase the lead to 19 points at the final change, 67-48.
Wallan did its utmost to get back into the game, kicking four goals, but was matched in every regard by the Panthers, who also added four goals to eventually win 14.8 (92) to 11.12 (78).
Corey Salvador, Hayden Gill, Steven Boyall, Benjamin Dessent, Jake Carlisle and Dion Hill were all named in the best, while Lachlan Smart, Gill and Owen Fowler kicked two goals apiece.
A depleted Romsey gave it everything against Melton Centrals but fell 16 points short in a high-scoring game.
The Redbacks kicked four goals to be in the game at the first change, trailing 24-31.
Melton Centrals had the better of the second term, kicking four goals to three to lead 58-44 at the main break, before a goal-for-goal third quarter saw both teams kick four goals, leaving Centrals leading 86-69 at the final change.
Romsey pushed hard, kicking five goals in the final term, but Melton Centrals had just enough to kick four goals of its own and eventually win 17.14 (116) to 16.4 (100).
Jack Jedwab kicked seven goals for the Redbacks, while Matt Burkett, Seamus Menner, Jaxson Kinnear, William Di Pietro and Judd Rademaker also played well alongside him.
Unfortunately, it was a miserable day for Lancefield at Kyneton, only managing one goal in the Tigers’ 118-point loss.
It could have been much worse for the Tigers, with Kyneton kicking inaccurately. Four goals from 10 scoring shots in the first term left Kyneton leading 30-1 at the end of the first change.
The Tigers looked to get back into the game with the first goal of the second term through Hunter Jenkins. Unfortunately, this would be the last score of the day for Lancefield as Kyneton took back control, leading 60-7 at the main break.
Kyneton continued to dominate, adding another three goals to lead 84-7 at the final change, before kicking six more goals in the last term to eventually win 17.23 (125) to 1.1 (7).
Walter King, Flynn O’Meara, Ben Sankey, Jack Dalgleish, Lachlan Pollock and Thomas Sayers were the best for Lancefield.
It was the exact opposite for the clubs’ netball divisions, with all three teams taking victories.
Romsey took a 62-43 win over Melton Centrals, with the Redbacks shooting away in the middle two quarters.
Wallan recorded a comfortable 69-32 victory over Melton South, while Lancefield took a 42-33 win over Kyneton.
It means Wallan continues to hold top spot, while Lancefield sit in third position. Romsey sit in eighth spot.
