GEELONG FALCONS 9.13 (67)
MURRAY BUSHRANGERS 13.7 (85)
MURRAY kept its NAB League top three chances alive and tipped Geelong out of the prime positions with an efficient 18-point win over the Falcons at Avalon Airport Oval on Sunday.
The Bushrangers grabbed the initative in the second quarter when they kicked five unanswered goals from late in the first to turn a three-point deficit into an 11-point lead at half-time before adding another three goals in each of the third and fourth quarters for an impressive win.
Murray’s win came despite having 20 scoring shots to 22 and conceding 46-38 inside-50s, winning 58 more disposals than the Falcons as Nick Quigg led the way with 31 disposals, six marks, nine inside-50s and a goal.
Jedd Longmire (27, five entries), Oscar Ryan (20, six marks), Ewan Mackinlay (20, seven rebounds), Harrison Hewitt (19, five marks, one goal), Tom Cappellari (23) and Max Clohesy (20) provided strong support, with Joeve Cooper booting four goals to take his season tally to 12 and Fletcher Hart taking six marks and snagging 3.3 to move to 14.
Euriah Hollard again starred for Geelong, winning 22 disposals, five marks and five entries and kicking two goals, while Andrew Hastie (23, five rebounds) was strong in defence, Cooper Hayes (20, seven marks, one goal), Will Baker (20, seven tackles, six entries) and 16-year-old Ethan Borys (18, seven tackles) were also good.
GIPPSLAND POWER 10.5 (65)
SANDRINGHAM DRAGONS 7.18 (60)
GIPPSLAND survived a desperate comeback from a profligate Sandringham to keep its unbeaten record intact with a five-point win at Morwell on Saturday.
The Power looked to have the game in their keeping when they led by 22 points at quarter-time and 32 at the half despite only having two more scoring shots, but were forced to cling on desperately as the Dragons charged home, only to waste the chance for a huge win by kicking 5.12 to 2.3 in the second half including 3.7 to 1.2 in the last quarter.
Mitchell Moschetti dominated for Gippsland with 36 disposals, seven tackles, six inside-50s and a goal, with Joel Scholtes (30, six marks six tackles), Max Walton (30, five rebounds), Blake Couling (25, six marks, five rebounds), debutant Tom Hanily (22, eight entries), Rhys Galvin (21, six marks, eight rebounds) all enjoying career-best performances – as did Lachlan Rathjen (19), Sebastian Amoroso (17), Cooper Brown (16), Harry Scott (15, nine tackles), Nate Pipicelli (14, 22 hitouts, six tackles), Jesse Craven (13, five tackles, two goals) and Oliver Lemchens (13).
Lachlan Benton was terrific for Sandringham, earning 33 possessions, six marks and six tackles, with ruckman Ben Andrews (23, six marks, seven entries, 19 hitouts) and Luke Travers (22, five tackles) also starring and Matt Clarkson (21), Jamie Hope (17, six marks, five entries, one goal), Nathan Scollo (18, five marks) and James Creighton (17, five tackles) also standing up, while Chris Rousakis (16, seven marks, seven tackles) could have had a huge game but kicked 1.5.
OAKLEIGH CHARGERS 8.12 (60)
DANDENONG STINGRAYS 10.12 (72)
DANDENONG climbed to second on the ladder and sent Oakleigh sliding to fifth after winning by 12 points in a tight contest at Warrawee Park on Saturday.
The Stingrays kicked three goals to none in the first quarter before the Chargers hit back with the first three goals of the second term to set up five lead changes in the space of 14 minutes, with Taj Campbell-Farrell’s goal right on half-time giving the visitors a 10-point gap at the main change.
Dandenong then kicked the first three goals of the third quarter to make it five in a row and steal a matchwinning break, going on to record an impressive victory on the back of a stunning performance from Harrison Jones, who had kicked just one goal in eight previous NAB League games but grabbed six marks and booted 5.2, and Ziggy Toledo (five marks, three goals).
Kade De La Rue, 16, led the Stingrays with 26 disposals and six marks, with Campbell-Farrell (25, six entries, one goal), Hugo Nosiara (25, six tackles), Ned Moodie (24, nine rebounds), Matt Nelson (21, six entries, one goal) and Cooper Simpson (21, six entries) also playing huge roles in the win.
Jed Rule was sensational in defence for the Chargers with 28 touches, 13 marks, and nine rebounds as Will Sexton (26, six marks, five entries), Sam Nehme (20, six marks), Hamish Heine (18, six marks), Nathan Philactides (18, six rebounds), Nick McLarty (17, 21 hitouts), Alex Noblet (17, seven marks, one goal), Oliver Badr (20) and debutants Will Lorenz (19, six marks, one goal) and Alex Curry (17, five marks, two goals) also played big roles in trying to keep their team alive.
CALDER CANNONS 8.6 (54)
EASTERN RANGES 14.6 (90)
EASTERN produced a dominant 30-minute period through the middle of the game to overwhelm Calder by 36 points at Highgate on Saturday to keep the pressure on the top eight.
The Ranges trailed by nine points midway through the second term but slammed on six unanswered goals from the 15-minute mark until 20 minutes into the third, going on with the job with another four goals to three in the last term.
Lachlan Reidy (25, nine marks, seven inside-50s, one goal), Connor Smith (26, six marks, five entries, two goals) and Hayden Smith (26, seven entries, one goal) all starred for Eastern, with Trent Marotta (21, six marks, five rebounds), Jye Peacock (24, five marks), Cam Nyko (23, five entries), Cody Anderson (20, one goal) and the opportunistic Riley Weatherill (four kicks, four goals) also playing big roles.
The Cannons had winners in Matt Foley (27, eight marks, seven rebounds), Jack Brown (29, five marks, five entries) and Tom O’Sullivan (26, eight marks), while Declan Willmore (18, six marks, five inside-50s), Luca Alessio (18, seven marks, seven rebounds) and Reuben Rode (19) also played well.
NORTHERN KNIGHTS 10.10 (70)
GWV REBELS 12.12 (84)
LAST week GWV stunned Oakleigh, but this week the Rebels were forced to work overtime to hold off a fast-finishing Northern by 14 points at Genis Steel Oval on Saturday.
The Rebels looked to have the points in their keeping when they led by 34 points early in the last quarter, but the bottom-placed Knights booted four goals in 12 minutes to set up a nervewracking finishing before best-on-ground Hamish Sinnott put paid to the challenge with a crucial 19th-minute major.
Sinnott racked up 34 disposals, nine marks, seven tackles, nine inside-50s and the match-sealing goal in a dominant display, challenged only for top honours by William White (18, seven marks, seven entries, five tackles, four goals), with Tristan Maple (24, six marks), Luamon Lual (17, six rebounds) and Declan McGuigan (five marks, five tackles, four goals) also important.
The Knights continue to be competitive without getting over the line, with Matthew Ryan (29, five marks, eight inside-50s), Jonathan Tomasiello (26, five marks, seven entries), Jarred Seiter (23, two goals), Ben Ham (20, five entries, one goal) and Jude Georgevski (19, one goal) all playing their roles.
BENDIGO PIONEERS 4.7 (31)
TASMANIA DEVILS 14.16 (100)
TASMANIA bounced back into the top three when it brushed Bendigo aside after quarter-time to win by 69 points at Highgate on Sunday.
The Pioneers trailed by just two points at the first break but were powerless to stop the Devils after that as they kicked 11 goals to one to win running away and bounce back from last week’s 80-point hiding from Dandenong, and the margin could have been even bigger if they didn’t kick 3.7 to 0.1 in the last quarter.
Heath Ollington was best-on-ground for Tasmania with 34 disposals, seven tackles, five inside-50s and 1.3 while also earning an unbelievable 10 free kicks to two conceded, with Arie Schoenmaker (24, 11 marks, eight rebounds) dominant in defence, Jack Callinan (23, eight tackles, six entries, one goal), Liam Jones (24, seven entries) and Tom Beaumont (19, five tackles, seven entries) firing in the midfield and Brandon Leary snagging three goals up forward.
Corbin Anderson worked tirelessly in defence for Bendigo to finish with 20 touches and eight rebounds alongside Malik Gordan (18, seven tackles, eight rebounds), with Charlie Hillier trying hard in the middle with 18 possessions and Archer Day-Wicks booting three of his team’s four goals.
BYE: Western Jets
NAB LEAGUE LADDER ROUND 11, click here
THIS WEEK
July 2-3: General Bye
NEXT WEEK: ROUND 12: Saturday, July 9: Calder Cannons v Northern Knights (Highgate, 10.30am); Gippsland Power v Oakleigh Chargers (Morwell, 1pm); Dandenong Stingrays v Murray Bushrangers (Shepley Oval, 2pm). Sunday, July 10: Western Jets v Eastern Ranges (Avalon Airport Oval, 11am); GWV Rebels v Sandringham Dragons (Mars Stadium, 1pm); Geelong Falcons v Bendigo Pioneers (Avalon Airport Oval, 1.30pm). Bye: Tasmania Devils.
THEN: July 16-17: General Bye
(All games are streamed live on the NAB League app except for the Herald Sun game, which is on that website).