BFNL Review - Round 15, 2024

Somehow a never-say-die North Ballarat managed to salvage a draw after trailing by seven points inside the final minute of a thriller at Alfredton Oval.

The game ebbed and flowed for the most part and looked every slim chance of ending in a draw bar the second quarter scoreboard pressure from North Ballarat and the rally late from Ballarat to earn back the lead.

So fans and players alike were left to revisit the unique realisation of the draw as the brain is involuntarily split with its messaging.

We, the mere mortals, are left to process 'glass half full' or 'glass half empty'?

Both sides could find legitimate reasoning for winning the game and maybe letting one slip but after time to look at the game and it's many variables, it was the Swans for mine who were left lamenting.

Even when North Ballarat booted three unanswered goals in the second term, I wouldn't be surprised if there was little between the two in weight of possession.

If the Swans want to be spoken about as finals contenders, they can surely cop their deserves around missed opportunity.

Clumsy decision making and overuse of the ball cost the Swans the game.

You couldn't doubt the second and third efforts of both sides, they were super. However, those efforts were more often attributed to a failing of the first effort, with ball in hand.

North Ballarat had just seven players from their 2023 Grand Final side and travelled to Alfredton Oval to take on the Swans who had won their last three games.

With only Andrew Hopper and Callum Wellings to return for the Swans there was no better time to be getting the Roosters missing no less than eight of their best 22 despite the inclusion of Collingwood VFL listed commodity Sam Glover.

The Roosters three keys forward combined for seven of their 11 goals. Joel Freeman (3), Sam Glover (2) and Ned Nash (2) looked dangerous every time the Roosters went inside.

Reggie Palmer, Malachi White, Isaac Carey, Noah Cockerill, Tom Bromley-Lynch and 201-gamer Simon McCartin were named best.

Harry Butler (two goals) and Tom Mooney (2) were the only multiple goal scorers for the Swans who did miss the direction Hooper in the clinches.

The pick of the Swans troops on an 'almost' day were Marcus Powling, Tristan Maple, Wil Liston, Fraser Perkins, Rhys Perry and Paddy Simpson.

STATS THAT CAUGHT THE EYE

William Liston (Ballarat) - 32 disposals, 14 contested possessions, 9 clearances

Isaac Carey (North Ballarat) - 29 disposals, 18 contested possessions, 13 clearances

Malachi White (North Ballarat) - 23 disposals, 19 contested possessions, 11 clearances

COACHES’ VERDICT
Chris Maple (Ballarat)
"Two young teams cracking in. A great learning day for our boys. Behind, in front, then even! We wasted some opportunities, and our overuse helped them in their territory game. They were also very efficient going inside 50. As I said, this game will give us plenty of learnings as we head forward."

Brendan McCartney (North Ballarat)
"A fantastic game of footy. We had some great patches of play, and our pressure enabled us opportunities to score. (We) lost our way in a couple of key areas and the opposition took ascendancy away from us. Ballarat had some really good blocks of play. The learning and development continues for us. So proud of the fight in our players every week. They are a fantastic group of young men."

The high-flying Kangas extended their winning run to 12 with a dominant display against the Lakers at Eastern Oval.

The 155-point margin provided coach Joe Carmody with his ninth season win of 47 points or more. Only Melton (five points), Sunbury (20) and North Ballarat (27) have finished closer over the stretch (post Round 1).

Henderson Medal fancy Matty Johnston starred again with a game high seven goals, leading as many as nine other Kangas’ players to hit the scoreboard.

MJ has finished in the best on 12/13 occasions with five (considered) 'best on ground' performances including the last three games on the trot. Bryson McDougall (six goals) added to his already impressive season tally of 45 to move within eight goals of Melton's Braedan Kight (59).

Such is the scoring power of East Point, they have four players in the top 14 goal scorers in the competition. Super effort and another example of a team in rare form.

Behind Johnston and McDougall were tireless, recognised contributions from Mikitja Rottumah-Onus, Billy Jones, Tom Conlan and Liam Howard.

But in reality, there was room in the best for another 16 Kangaroos players according to Carmody.

For Rohan Brown's men, learnings will surely be taken following a first hand, birds-eye view into what's required to feature at the pointy end of the season.

Despite the efforts of Ty Palmer and usual suspects Tom Zampatti, Angus Gove, Joel O'Connell, Tim Collins and Bayley Thompson the gulf in class was palpable.

While it's a given that the Lakers have a long way to go, the Kangas, let it be said, are near joint favorites with Melton to win a third flag in seven years.

STATS THAT CAUGHT THE EYE

Jordan Johnston (East Point) - 24 disposals, 16 score involvements, 11 marks

Matt Johnston (East Point) - 25 disposals, 11 marks, 10 score involvements

Angus Gove (Lake Wendouree) - 30 disposals, 11 marks, 10 intercept posessions 

COACHES’ VERDICT

Joe Carmody (East Point)
"(It) was a comprehensive performance. (We) defended really well and created a high number of scoring opportunities with effective ball movement."

Rohan Brown (Lake Wendouree)
"East Point out played us in every facet of the game. We had one winner in Ty Palmer who did an excellent job on Jacob Brown. Myself and 22 players own what we produced."

Visiting Sunbury usurped their Round 2 144-point advantage over the Panthers with a 188-point win at Melton Recreation Reserve.

Collectively, the two meets equate to a Sunbury scoreline of 56.28-364 to 4.8-32.

Handy percentage boosters for the now third placed Lions.

Leading forward Jake Sutton was the star on the goalfront with a season high 12 goals to move within four of once tearaway Tony Lockett Medal leader Braedan Kight who sits on 59 goals.

Sutton has recorded 18 of his 55 season goals (32.7%) against the Panthers alone.

The Lions embraced an opportunity debuting next generation talent Jackson McHenry (three goals) and Jake Walker (two goals) in the absence of Tyson Lever, Jake Egan, Jack Newitt, Mitch McLean and Harry Power.

While Newitt (quad) is the only certainty to miss upcoming clash with Darley, it will be interesting to see what Lions’ coach Matty White does with Jake Egan having gone on the record indicating it's back through the twos for any player in the event of missing more than a week of footy.

Egan has not been seen since Round 11. Lever, McLean and Power were more or less put on ice for the all-important Darley game this week and are in the clear of an elongated return.

Unfortunately, improving Lion Jack Hannett (collarbone) joins fellow starting defenders Newitt and Jordan Tentonello (leg) on the sidelines, opening the door of further opportunity at Sunbury.  

The Lions’ dominance on the scoreboard at the weekend progressed incrementally from quarter to quarter as they managed six, seven, eight, and nine goal terms to bring up the milestone 200.

Ageless forward Leigh Brennan finished with five goals in a support role for Sutton to finish among the better players named while Josh Guthrie, Nathan Wood, Riley Miller and debutant Walker got it done between the arcs.

Tough day for the Panthers, their second, one goal return in as many weeks. Cody Chapman, Darby Schilder, Jarrod Bibby all featured prominently while it was good to see new faces Lachlan Peterson, Jesse Muse among those recognised for their effort.  

The Panthers losing run of matches is now 36.

STATS THAT CAUGHT THE EYE

Jake Sutton (Sunbury) - 29 disposals, 21 score involvements, 14 marks

Josh Guthrie (Sunbury) - 36 disposals, 22 contested possessions, 14 score involvements

Cody Chapman (Melton South) - 35 disposals, 16 contested possessions, 10 intercept possessions

COACHES’ VERDICT
Travis Hodgson (Melton South)
"Poor performance after a good month, our kids had been up for a while. We fumbled at a level I’ve not seen, didn't stick tackles and took no risks with the ball, dumping it for most of the day and therefore not challenging Sunbury to defend us. Sunbury made our small ground huge with the way they set it up and shaped the ball exceptionally well."

Matt White (Sunbury)
"Was a good four quarter performance and (we) unearthed some great young talent in (Jackson) McHenry and (Blake) Walker. We focus on recovery and Darley now."

The Burra gave sponsors and fans something to smile about with a second 'home win' of the season, downing Redan by 56 points.

The match was considered the unofficial battle for the 'best team outside the top six'.

The response from the Burra in the absence of Luke Kiel (knee) was emphatic.

Sebastopol coach Tony Lockyer took ownership of his side’s recent inability to score and went forward in a genius move that yielded the veteran utility a game high five goals.

With Lachlan Cassidy back and others on the mend, it's likely we will see more of Lockyer forward in his twilight years.

Surely, a headache for opposition coaches moving foward.

This game was over at half-time as the Burra earned bang for buck returns for their efficiency on goal to set up a 42-point lead over the Lions who struggled without reliable defender and distributor Jacob Short (hamstring).

Lockyer wasn't alone leading the charge toward the Burras’ highest score of the season.

As many as eight other Sebastopol players shared the spoils on the goal front behind Lockyer, six of those multiple contributors.

Adam Forbes (three goals), Liam Mason (2), Cooper Littlehales (2), Bailey Medwell (2), Chase Dummett (2) and Cassidy (2) elevated the threat in the Burras’ front half from moderate to dangerous, a rare feature for the Burra camp this season, for one reason or another.

Cassidy gave every indication he's back to full strength over his troublesome hamstring and was named best afield ahead of Medwell, Forbes, Luke Phillips, Ben Hutt and of course, Lockyer.

For Redan, they would be disappointed with their returns on the back of 26 scoring shots. The Lions have now lost six of their last seven games by an average of 63.5 points.

Lachie George (one goal) was named best for the Lions alongside Liam Farnsworth, Grant Bell (three goals), Khy Jess, Riley Collins (one goal) and Patrick Fitzgibbon.

For the record, consistent forward Grant Bell has multiple goals in 12 of his last 14 games.  

STATS THAT CAUGHT THE EYE

Bailey Medwell (Sebastopol) - 41 disposals, 21 contested possessions, 13 clearances

Tony Lockyer (Sebastopol) - 33 disposals, 17 score involvements, 17 contested possessions

Lachlan George (Redan) - 26 disposals, 12 score involvements, 8 pressure acts

COACHES’ VERDICT
Tony Lockyer (Sebastopol)
"We were after a consistent four quarter performance. We wanted to set the tone early and play the game on our terms. Pleasing to execute on all fronts, very happy with the way moved the ball. Twenty-two contributors all day. The first of three important games to finish off our year. Looking forward to Ballarat next week."

Gary Learmonth (Redan)
"Sebastopol were cleaner and took their chances in front of goal early which set the game up. I thought the boys battled it out in the second half with mounting injuries."