Sport
22 May, 2023
Return to the winners list for Royal Park after five straight losses to open 2023 season
It was a win borne out of three weeks of effort. But Royal Park have something to show for it now, with their first win in the senior football competition for 2023. Their 96-point win against Campbells Creek vaulted them into 11th place on the...
It was a win borne out of three weeks of effort.
But Royal Park have something to show for it now, with their first win in the senior football competition for 2023.
Their 96-point win against Campbells Creek vaulted them into 11th place on the ladder as a result, and, following competitive outings against Navarre and Newstead in the fortnight prior, will look to take added confidence ahead of a crucial two-week stretch which includes games against Dunolly and Maryborough Rovers.
Bushy kicked four goals to two in the first quarter of their game against the Magpies, but put the game away in the second quarter to kick five goals to a solitary behind to move 45 points clear at the main break.
A further four goals to one point in the third quarter meant the margin opened up to 69 points, before six more goals in the final term, compared to two goals from Creek, opened up the margin to 96 points.
An outstanding forward performance from Jacob Rollason was key to Bushy’s success, kicking nine goals, while Lachlan Bates continued what has been an outstanding season for the club to this point. Rhys Wagstaff, Riley Govan, Brandon Solomano and Murray Bond were also among the best.
Darcy Ahern kicked three goals for Campbells Creek, while Hadley Bassett, Tyson Williams, Lachlan Hyland, Luke Bennett, Nicholas O’Brien and Joel Wootton were the Magpies’ better performers.
Bushy coach Mark Ashmore couldn’t hide his relief at securing a long-awaited win for 2023.
“It’s a reward for effort and one where we’ve been sticking to what we’ve been working on in the pre-season. We’ve also finally been able to get a full list on the track, too. We’ve had a nightmare time trying to get a few blokes on the ground to play footy, but it was good to have a few back, with a couple in for their second game of the year, and we got the chocolates at the end,” he said.
“After quarter time, we put a few things together really well. Our heads were over the footy in the first quarter and the boys were attacking well, we just weren’t clever with it. Once we rectified that, we put them away.
“It took a bit of stress off my head when the boys are putting in four quarters and I’m rapt with the effort.”
Bushy have been straightened up in front of goal in recent weeks with key additions, which has seen Karson Guareschi kick six goals the week before against Newstead, while Rollason’s nine gave them a great avenue to goal.
Ashmore said that came about due to the availability of players such as Bond, who has made a difference to the Tigers’ entry inside 50.
“Karson and Jacob have been fantastic over the last couple of weeks. But it’s also the reward of having someone like Murray Bond who works very hard as a high half-forward. He is amazing and I can’t undersell him,” he said.
Ashmore waxed lyrical about the performances of Beau and Riley Govan, as well as Bates to start the season. Bates was only able to play one game in 2022 — coming against Natte Bealiba in round two — but has not put a foot wrong since his return to the Tigers, where he previously played in their juniors from 2014 to 2018.
“A few of the young guys have taken their opportunity when they have had their chance. Lachlan Bates is just a star. He was injured early in 2022 and never really had a chance to get back on the track, and the Govan boys are sponges — anything you teach them, they take it under their wing and apply it when they are around the footy,” he said.
Ashmore looks forward to the challenge of Dunolly this week, who despite winning just two of their first six games, have been competitive against the likes of Trentham and Carisbrook to open the season. And in last season’s corresponding meeting, the Tigers lost by just five points after a ding-dong battle.
“The boys will go in quite confident in what we can do, but also keeping in mind Dunolly’s efforts, they certainly won’t be easy — they are travelling well, despite their results. But the boys, coming off a win, will have a good vibe on the training track and hopefully we can take it in this Saturday,” he said.
“The last three weeks are back to where we were last year. The top four are very good in the competition, but apart from that, it’s really competitive. So it’s good to be performing well against those kinds of teams, whether we get the win or not.”
Ahead of what is set to be Royal Park’s last season, given the amalgamation that is slated to go ahead between the Tigers and Maryborough Rovers, Ashmore says that scraping into the top eight is still a possibility, but getting positives out of the club was the first priority.
“You want to go out with a bit of a bang. I’m not writing off getting enough wins to scrape into the eight. It wasn’t the perfect start to the year, but you have to finish with some real positives. We want to put out best foot forward ahead of a few of these guys representing the new club next year,” he said.
