Sport
22 July, 2025
Rinaldi’s seven leads Carisbrook past Dunolly
A magnificent seven goals from Tim Rinaldi have guided Carisbrook past a spirited Dunolly, maintaining their spot inside the top four thanks to a tight 27-point victory.
After being held to three goals in his last three matches following his torrid start to the season, Rinaldi regained his sparkling form at the perfect time during a game where goals were at a premium.
Neither team was able to implement their free-flowing run-and-gun style of football to start the match as the Redbacks and Eagles ensured their opponents couldn’t escape the contest cleanly.
It meant that it took nearly eight minutes for the game’s first goal, with Dunolly forward Kallum Schepers converting a set shot to draw first blood.
The two teams split the other two goals in the opening term, with the Eagles holding a narrow five-point advantage at quarter time.
After Schepers opened the goal scoring in the second quarter, Carisbrook were arguably the better team in the term, eventually taking the lead late with a Rinaldi goal.
However, inaccurate kicking limited the Redbacks from pulling away, allowing Dunolly to retake a two-point lead at half time with a late goal.
The Eagles looked to extend their advantage early in the third quarter, however, the Redbacks held firm in the opening stages, limiting the damage to two points and keeping the deficit within a kick.
That meant when Nicholas Wright kicked the first goal of the second half in the 14th minute of the third quarter, Carisbrook were back in the lead.
Then the contest quickly turned into the Rinaldi show, with the key forward kicking three unanswered goals to end the quarter, giving the Redbacks a 21-point cushion at three-quarter time.
Dunolly looked poised to start a comeback in the fourth quarter when Joel Fisher and Lachlan Watson kicked back-to-back goals to draw the margin down to nine points.
However, that’s as close as they got, with Carisbrook ending the match with three consecutive goals to seal the crucial four points.
Rinaldi’s seven goals made him an easy choice for best on ground for Carisbrook, joined in the best players by Thomas Gardam, Brady Neill, Jackson Bowen, Blake Matthews and Cooper Tatchell.
Dunolly listed Lachlan Tranter, Adal Zuk, Ryan Burt, Lloyd Needs, Fisher and Jay McDonald as their best players, with Schepers the Eagles’ leading goalkicker with two goals.