Sport
15 August, 2022
Pies battle mud and Bloods
While it was an emotional day for many reasons at Maryborough on Saturday afternoon, it was not enough to inspire the Magpies to victory at a very heavy Princes Park, with South Bendigo leveraging an eight-goal to nil second quarter to record...
While it was an emotional day for many reasons at Maryborough on Saturday afternoon, it was not enough to inspire the Magpies to victory at a very heavy Princes Park, with South Bendigo leveraging an eight-goal to nil second quarter to record a 115-point victory.
Captain Coby Perry played his 100th game for the club, while there were great scenes pre-game with under 18 player Lachie Bursill making his senior debut, and Cam Skinner made his return for what is likely to be his final senior game after accepting Perry’s request to play in this encounter.
For a fleeting moment, it looked as though the Magpies were up for the fight early on. They would kick the first goal of the match, but South Bendigo — themselves with plenty to play for as they looked to sew up a finals berth — kicked into gear after that, kicking five of the next six goals to lead by 21 points at the first change.
While the ground was deteriorating into a mudpit, the Bloods would come out and play perfect wet-weather football in the second quarter to put away any hopes of the Magpies celebrating a big day at the club, kicking eight goals for the quarter, while restricting the Magpies to just three behinds, allowing them to take a comfortable 69-point lead at half time.
The Magpies had their chances in the third quarter with four shots on goal, however, could only convert one of those chances. Meantime, South Bendigo were able to further underline their credentials as a finals-quality team, kicking six goals to extend their lead to 99 points at the final change.
With both teams tiring on the heavy deck, Maryborough enjoyed their best quarter in a defensive sense for the afternoon, holding South Bendigo to three goals for the final quarter, while hitting the scoreboard themselves. However, it was not enough to prevent the Bloods from winning by triple-figures, kicking 22.14 (146) to 4.7 (31).
Perry was fittingly one of the Magpies’ better players in his 100th as he gave his all for the cause, while Mitch McClure, Thomas Gardam, Brady Neill, Jake Postle and Lachlan Hull were also named in coach Rick Andrews’ best players.
There were only singular goalkickers for the afternoon, with Chris Freeman, Postle, Neill and Kya Lanfranchi — who kicked his first goal for the season — all hitting the scoreboard for the Magpies.
The Magpies’ senior men’s team will finish off their season next weekend as they travel to Kyneton to play the Tigers.