THE juggernaut of the Riddell District Football Netball League’s (RDFNL) senior men’s football competition notched up its seventh-straight win of the season as Wallan ran over the top of a gusty Macedon outfit at Tony Clarke Reserve.
Macedon was looking to redeem itself after a shock loss to Melton Centrals last weekend, and it proved to be a tight tussle from the opening ball-up.
Wet-weather conditions and tighter defence meant Wallan’s forwards couldn’t match the early onslaught they dished out to the Gisborne Giants defenders last week.
Kept to just two goals in the opening term, the Magpies took the lead ten minutes into the second quarter but then gave up the next three to find themselves 11 points behind at the main break.
Three goals each in the third made for a 53-42 scoreline at three-quarter time in favour of the Cats which threatened to put the first blemish of the year on Wallan’s season, but the Magpies weren’t done with yet.
A mixture of staunch defence and serious forward pressure started an avalanche of scoring opportunities for the visitors who piled on four goals and seven behinds in the last to help them win by 20 points and extend their winning streak to seven games.
After taking a back seat for the Dion Hill show last weekend, star forward Lachlan Smart bagged his third five-goal performance for the season to lead the way up forward for Wallan.
Chris Stewart added four of his own, while Harley Short produced a standout game to get his name among the best for the first time this year.
Sean Morris, Corey Viani, Hill, Smart and Jake Carlisle were also named in the Magpies’ best.
The winning streak across the three football sides finally came to an end with Macedon outclassing Wallan’s under-19.5s. The Magpies’ reserves cemented their position at the top of the ladder, dealing with the second-placed Cats by seven goals.
It was a great day for the Wallan netballers, winning four of its five matchups and drawing the other.
The A-grade side had to scrap for a win against a dogged Macedon who pushed them all the way until the end.
An 11-9 last quarter scoreline proved the difference as the Magpies won by two goals. Rebekah Konstantopoulos and Maeve Donegan were again impressive up front.
Down south in Melton, Romsey nearly snatched a win from Melton Centrals, going down by six points in the footy.
Desperately needing a win to keep in touch with a finals position, signs weren’t good early for the Redbacks who were down by 14 after the first quarter.
Kicking three goals to two in the second kept it close enough, but the climb back became more difficult after Melton Centrals extended the lead to 17 at three-quarter time.
Needing quick goals, the Redbacks had the lead back to just four points in the early stages of the final term and hit the front at the 15-minute mark after their fourth goal for the quarter sailed through.
The Centrals tied the game back up heading into the dying stages, and slotted a winner to relegate Romsey to a 2-5 record heading into the long weekend bye.
Nathan Blair, Nathan Tessari and Nathan Rayment were among the best for the Redbacks, with Rayment kicking a team-high three goals.
The reserves had no luck in their search for a win, while the under-19.5s fell by three goals.
All but the A-grade side, who trailed at each break to fall by 16 goals, won their matchups for the Redbacks.
The B-grade team were especially impressive in their 77-29 win over the Centrals, extending their undefeated start to the season to seven games.
Lancefield’s football and netball sides returned from a bye last week, and it was the netballers once again making all the headlines.
The A-grade side put together one of the wildest scorelines seen in the RDFNL, beating Melton South 102-18.
Star goalshooter Shanae Brundell dropped in 80 goals of her own to take the highest scoring performance for the year from Kyneton’s Ellie Bird.
Not to be outdone, the B-grade side won by 55 goals to stay in touch with the top two sides. The remaining sides lost.
On the footy field, a competitive start for the senior men wasn’t enough to get them into the game against Melton South, eventually going down by 53 points.
With the scores tied at quarter time, the Tigers weren’t able to stay with the Panthers who kicked away in the second quarter to leave the Tigers still searching for their first win of the season.
Jordan Watkins, Ben Sankey and Jordan Reeves were named in Lancefield’s best.
The reserves side won their third game of the year earlier in the day, beating Melton South by five goals thanks to Neil Johnson’s three-goal performance and Jack Foster’s best efforts.
In a blockbuster matchup in the RDFNL senior women’s football competition, Lancefield couldn’t capitalise on a strong start against the star-studded Macedon Cats.
Becoming the first team to lead at any break against the Cats this season, Lancefield held a five-point lead at half time.
The second half was a different story with Macedon kicking six goals to none to run out 33-point winners and continuing their good run of form.
Lily Bromley stepped up in the absence of leading goalkicker Harriet Ziedaitis to nail two of the Tigers’ three goals, and was named in the best alongside Harmony Cassar, Molly Libardi and Emily O’Brien.
The RDFNL will have a week off for the King’s Birthday long weekend.
