Reservoir have made it three from three against Lalor in the 2022 Heidelberg Golf Club Division 3 season after claiming a 22-point victory in front a big crowd at Crispe Park.
In a contest that was scrappy at times and hard fought, the home team were better at crucial stages of the contest. A 5.0 to 1.2 second quarter proved to be the difference in the 9.12 (66) to 6.6 (42) result.
Having finished last in every season since they re-joined the competition in 2017, seventh is a great result for the Mustangs as they look to continue their rebuild. For the Bloods meanwhile, it will be the first time they finish a Division 3 season on the bottom of the ladder.
Reservoir’s dominant second term saw them boot the last three goals to take a handy lead into the main break.
The Bloods did most of the attacking early in the third quarter which began well with a goal courtesy of Julian Zaccari. They then missed some chances with their short period of dominance before the Mustangs hit back with the last two goals of the term.
At the three-quarter time huddle, Reservoir coach Justin George urged his players to take the initiative and to put the game out of reach of the visitors.
As per instructions, the Mustangs dominated early in the final quarter but were unable to find the big sticks before Jack Smith eventually goaled with a kick off the ground to delight the home crowd.
Mitchell MacDonald then had a shot on goal before the ball returned to the middle, with Lalor’s ill-discipline getting the better of the frustrated side. He kicked truly to effectively end the contest.
To Lalor’s credit, they fought the game out strongly and slotted the final two majors on the day, but it was too little too late.
“Really proud of our guys getting reward for all their hard work,” said Reservoir coach Justin George.
George liked the work of the entire defence in restricting the Bloods to six goals. Nathan King and captain Tom Holloway were reliable down back, while Damien Petrucciani moved to defence after half time and did extremely well behind the ball.
Rob Holland was the best midfielder for the Mustangs and was ably assisted by Daniel Cole while Jack Smith worked his way into the game with his kicking skills on display throughout the match.
Dale Wells and Nelson MacDonald were dangerous forwards, and each finished with two majors.
Justin Bentley showed some class for Lalor with his speed through the midfield and also booted two goals. Christian Scaffidi impressed in defence with numerous intercept marks.
Jarrod Langborne was reliable in defence and also spent some time in the midfield. Christian Pisano made the most of limited supply to the forward line by snaring two goals.
“We couldn’t get the ball on the outside clean enough to run and carry and when we did, we turned it over,” said Lalor coach Angelo Lamanna.
“We really geared ourselves up for this, but it didn’t turn out as we had hoped. We can now look forward to next week, have a break and recruit some bigger bodies for next season.”
Despite the winless season to date, the Bloods have improved dramatically from the start of the season which began with a 205-point loss to Heidelberg West. Lalor had four losses in excess of 200 points prior to the bye and only one such loss thereafter.
