Sport
8 August, 2022
Hoppers relish muddy conditions against Natte
NAVARRE 7.8 (50) def NATTE BEALIBA 3.3 (21) Navarre defeated Natte Bealiba on Saturday by a comfortable 29-point margin. The game was played with a pink football and players wore pink armbands to support Breast Cancer Awareness Round that was...
NAVARRE 7.8 (50) def NATTE BEALIBA 3.3 (21)
Navarre defeated Natte Bealiba on Saturday by a comfortable 29-point margin.
The game was played with a pink football and players wore pink armbands to support Breast Cancer Awareness Round that was organised between the two clubs.
You could be forgiven to think that it was back in the good old days when muddy grounds were something that were often common conditions of weekly football.
It was a slugfest played in quagmire conditions after the Navarre oval was drenched the previous night and after four previous games being played on the ground, it was extremely muddy conditions.
But it was Navarre that adapted to the conditions and played excellent wet weather football.
Cody Driscoll scored the first goal of the game for the Grasshoppers after he dragged in a contested mark just three minutes in when the ball was still reasonably dry.
After a lot of back and forth, the league-leading goalkicker Danny Brewster, marked a pass from Will Holt to even the score.
Navarre then started to gain control and kicked two more goals to lead at quarter time by 15 points.
The second term saw only two goals scored with Holt from Natte Bealiba kicking truly halfway through the term, and Luke Notting kicked his second for the game shortly after. But it was Navarre in control at half time by 18 points.
Josh Fowkes was outstanding for Navarre and seemed to have the ball on a string and set up many forward entries for the home team, as they kicked out to a 30 points lead at the final change when Louis Hannett slotted a goal from a difficult angle and Billy Driscoll kicked one from the goal line courtesy of a 50 metre penalty.
Scoring was difficult in the final quarter, but Natte’s Danny Brewster kicked his second goal at the 11-minute mark, but it was answered by Cody Driscoll shortly after, and they were the only goals scored in the final quarter. Navarre’s Jay Moody did a particularly good job nullifying Brewster.
Navarre’s best players were Daneiel Reading, Josh Fowkes, Riley Bibby, Jesse Hannett, and Angus Barham.
Natte’s best were Daniel Vadala, Trent Mortlock in his 350th club game, Jordi Cossar, Brodie Johnson, Brady Templeton, and Darcy Thompson.