By RUSSELL BENNETT
DESPITE being dictated to throughout the first half, Bunyip dug deep and pulled off a gritty win over the hometown Stars at Beswick Street on Sunday afternoon – 6.8 (44) to 5.9 (39).
In the only Sunday fixture of the Ellinbank and District Football League (EDFL) round, the great traditional rivals went head-to-head but the match was far from an instant classic.
Garfield controlled play for the majority of the contest, but goals were at a premium for both sides – with only three majors kicked in the first half and all of those off the boots of Stars players.
Bulldogs player-coach Brad Walker gave his side a wakeup call in the form of a hard-hitting bake just before heading back out on to the ground for the third quarter, and it provided the spark they needed.
Stars skipper Ben Marsh was stellar throughout the physical contest in conditions in which he’s made his name of a long period of time, while John Atwell, Ryan Munro and the Payne brothers – Darcy and Tyson – also stood strong.
But Garfield couldn’t deliver the killer blow despite inflicting a world of pressure on the Bunyip backs in the opening stages.
Bulldogs captain Nathan Lieshout took a seemingly endless amount of marks – many of them intercept – while he also propelled a number of his side’s attacks from defensive 50. Prior to today he could have already had a claim on the title of ‘The EDFL’s Best Centre Half-Back’ and that’s only been strengthened now.
Jack Blakey had an outstanding second half and was particularly instrumental in the final term – using his run and carry to great effect. While it was a cold and wet day, it was a brand of ‘dry weather’ football that ultimately proved the most effective on the still pristine Garfield ground. Blakey’s attacking flair in the closing stages was outstanding, as was Dean Fitzgerald’s performance on a wing to start the second half resurgence.
“We brought our A-Game when we needed to in the end,” Walker said following the contest – far from content with his side’s first half, but pleased they found a way to grind out the four points.
“It was a scrappy win, but it was a good win.”
He raved about Blakey’s second-half performance, saying: “he’s our x-factor and he’s got a huge amount of talent – he’s just got to do that consistently, but he’s still only a young kid and he’s getting better and better with age.”
The biggest play of the game was a goal from Matt Ross, which finally put the Dogs ahead at the 12-minute mark of a tense final term. Trailing 4.9 to 4.7 at the time, the Dogs marked on their half-forward line with Rob Hughes then chipping it over the top to Ross, who played on, baulked the man on the mark and calmly slotted it through from 30.
Click on the videos below to watch the key goal from a cool, calm and collected Matt Ross; and the Bunyip song following the Bulldogs’ gritty win.
