GREENSBOROUGH again demonstrated its premiership credentials with a hard-fought 26-point victory over West Preston-Lakeside at War Memorial Park in Round 7 of Meadows Greyhounds Division 1.
The 11.15 (81) to 7.13 (55) result kept Greensborough in second spot on the ladder, while West Preston-Lakeside slipped out of the top five and into sixth spot after suffering its fourth loss for the season.
Daniel McLinden continued his dominant form across half back for the Boro, drawing in a myriad of intercept marks. Teammates Nick Riddle and Josh Griffiths were also influential in defence, masterminding a number of their side’s attacks.
At the other end of the ground it was Thomas O’Neill who stood tall for the Roosters on multiple occasions.
In a game where goals were hard to come by, Jack Johnston, Billy Bedford and Rhys Boyden were the multiple goal kickers for the Boro, while Billy Hogan and Shaun Gannon booted two goals each for the Roosters.
West Preston-Lakeside, who was looking to back up its Round 6 win over Bundoora, made certain that Greensborough needed to work supremely hard for the four points.
The Roosters challenged a more fancied opponent almost all of the way, and may have pushed them even further with just a little bit more polish and finesse.
The tackling pressure was enormous throughout the entire match and it never died down until the final siren.
The Roosters’ midfielders, led by Rhett Jordon, Adam Valeri and Brad Sanderson, were dominant in the clearances and led the way early for the visitors.
Liam McVeigh was also lively early for the Roosters and marked everything that came his way, providing spark across half forward.
Winning the contested ball was not enough for the Roosters however, as Greensborough’s Adrian Cataldo and Josh Callaway proved damaging on the outside.
Jason Rogers kicked the first goal of the game for the Boro from a stoppage inside forward 50, after much of the early stages were played in the Roosters’ forward half.
Greensborough was able to eventually get its running game going throughout the quarter, however turnovers going inside 50 meant they didn’t get full reward on the scoreboard.
David Rodan put West Preston-Lakeside on the board with his side’s first goal of the game late in the quarter. Soon after Hogan was able to sail through a set shot goal, giving the Roosters the lead nearing quarter time.
However, late goals to Bedford and Chris Clark put the Boro seven points ahead on the siren.
Both sides found it difficult to find an avenue to goal in the second quarter as the intensity did nothing but increase from the opening term.
Good composure from Johnston gave the Boro their only goal for the quarter, before Patrick Karnezis and McVeigh kicked two goals in quick succession to keep the visitors within four points at the main break.
Greensborough was able to seize the momentum with multiple inside 50s late in the quarter, but was unable to score against the Roosters’ resolute defence.
Despite the game opening up and being played predominately on the outside during the third quarter, both teams struggled to get the game played on their terms with both defences standing tall.
A well-earned goal to Johnston gave the Boro one they truly deserved, but it was immediately replied with a goal to Gannon to make sure the Roosters were still in the contest.
Still holding a four-point advantage at the last change, Greensborough was finally able to break the game open in the last quarter.
The Boro rallied home, kicking six goals to the Roosters two in the final quarter, nearly doubling their score from the first three quarters to get over the line by 26 points for their third win in a row.
Greensborough will travel to Bill Lawry Oval in Round 8 to take on Northcote Park, while West Preston-Lakeside faces another tough assignment when it hosts Macleod at J.E. Moore Park.
Final score: Greensborough 11.15 (81) def West Preston-Lakeside 7.13 (55)
