In a highly anticipated ‘Battle of the Bears’ clash at Beverley Road Oval, Lower Plenty secured a 31-point victory, ending Banyule’s undefeated start to the 2022 MC Labour Division 2 season.
Since their surprise first round defeat to Watsonia in round 1, Lower Plenty haven’t looked like losing a match since, and Saturday’s contest was no different as only inaccurate kicking kept Banyule in the game.
The midfield work of Lower Plenty dominated once again, with the likes of Joshua Turner and Tom Keys influential in the 11.21 (87) to 8.8 (56) win.
Ciaran Porter and Jordan Zapantis led the way up forward with two goals each for the visitors, with the Bears having nine individual goalkickers on the day.
Speaking to NFNL.org.au after the victory, senior coach Phil Plunkett was pleased with the spread of goalkickers his side had.
“Having that many goalkickers makes it hard to defend, we can roll different guys through the forward line and makes us a little bit more dangerous,” he said.
Thomas Blake was also superb in the ruck throughout the match, with Plunkett saying he held his own against his in-form Banyule opponent Tim Martin.
“He really rucked well, [was] able to get us on top and get the ball moving forward,” he said.
“He’s been a bit crook the last few weeks, but this week he was back up and about and really showed his worth.”
The visitors dominated from the first bounce but only led by 17 points at the first change with an inaccurate 2.6 to blame.
Banyule best quarter came in the second, as a major from Lachlan Turner quickly led a resurgence from the home side, who managed to reduce the margin to eight points at half time.
Plunkett praised the movement and speed on the ball that Banyule created, which allowed them to be in the hunt during the second term.
“They’ve got a bit more pace than what we have so that’s an area we’ll have to try and work on a way to nullify on because you can’t get pace if you don’t have it,” he said.
Lower Plenty regained control of the match after half time however, registering 22 scoring shots to 9 in the second half to give Banyule no chance of grabbing a late lead.
As it was last week, the visitor’s midfield work was excellent, with their ability to win clearance after clearance a key factor to their third consecutive triumph.
Banyule will have a good chance to bounce back when they travel out to A.E. Cracknell Reserve next week to face Panton Hill whilst Lower Plenty will take on Thomastown in another ‘Battle of the Bears’.
