Old Paradians are now four wins from four matches at home in the Heidelberg Golf Club Division 3 competition after defeating Epping by 16 points at Garvey Oval.
The Blues had all the answers in the first half, leading by 29 points at quarter time, and 20 points by the main break thanks to some effective plays inside 50, before the Raiders turned the tables with an eight-goal to three second half to prevail 13.12 (90) to 10.14 (74).
Blair Healy finished as his side’s best and was excellent in the forward line and in ruck when required, he finished the afternoon with one major for the hosts.
Jack Nicolo was another standout for the Raiders and continued his strong start to season by making an impact in the defensive half before being equally as influential in midfield later in the game.
Anthony Cafari and Michael Boundy kicked three goals apiece, the latter now doing so in back-to-back games and has also managed at least one goal in all five matches he has played in 2024.
Young gun Cooper Scott was terrific for Epping and was a key contributor to his side’s strong opening half. Luke Lirosi was just as important, applying pressure to his opponents on every occasion.
Sebastian Latina kicked a game-high four majors for the visitors, with all four goals coming in the opening half, one of them being the first major of the match.
The Raiders responded immediately to Latina’s opener through a goal out of nothing from Kyle O’Sullivan but they would fail to have a major impact on the scoreboard for the remainder of the quarter as the match was played predominantly in Epping’s forward half.
Epping looked the better of the two sides throughout the middle of the ground, allowing them to create multiple entries inside 50. As a result, they would produce nine more scoring shots, four of them turning into goals, to help establish a 29-point quarter time buffer.
Every time the ball found its way to the Raiders’ forward line in the first term, the pressure coming from the Blues’ defenders was too much for their attacking players to handle, forcing consecutive turnovers.
But Ben Turner’s men came out a more determined looking side in the second term, and with two quick majors from Boundy and Lachie Kerr, the gap closed to 17 points.
Epping’s pressure was still intense; however, they weren’t able to convert their inside 50’s into goals as efficiently as they did in the previous term, kicking four behinds before Latina managed his second goals to settle to visitors.
Boundy kept the forward pressure up for Old Paradians, eventually kicking his second, before the Blues’ Latina capped off an astonishing second term with two more goals to make it four majors for the afternoon.
The Raiders went into the half-time break feeling more confident in their ability to bring get the game on their terms, but the visitors still finished the quarter 20 points in front.
With that confidence, the momentum of the match swung in the home side’s favour to start the second half and they were rewarded with the first three goals of the term.
Jack Nicolo turned it up a gear through the middle, creating some brilliant passages of play and having a direct impact on the Raiders’ scoring pressure.
Healy kicked the third of the trio of majors to give the Raiders the lead, an advantage they would not lose for the rest of the game.
The Blues meanwhile were reduced to one goal courtesy of Adrian Alfonsi, the home side on the other hand continued to pile on the majors themselves as Boundy, Kyle Mahoney and Struan Thomson all converted inside 50 entries into goals.
The onslaught led by Boundy saw Old Paradians lead by 14 points at the final change, but that was soon cut to eight inside the first few minutes of the last quarter, with a superb passage of play from defence leading to a Daniel Rakhlin goal for Epping.
Mahony fired back for the Raiders, as he managed to produce a soccer goal after a contest deep in the goal square to restore the 14-point margin.
Anthony Cafari, who had already produced a strong performance prior, had another brilliant quarter in the last, with some particularly impressive efforts throughout the forward line and in midfield.
He would kick his third and final goal of the match to make it a 21-point margin halfway through the quarter to all but seal the game.
Epping struggled to get the ball out of their defensive 50, with the Raiders’ pressure too intense for the visitors, a complete reversal to what the two sides were producing in the opening quarter.
Rakhlin managed to add one more major to the Blues’ score, but it was the Raiders who had done enough to prevail by 16 points on their home deck.
