THE lights of Yarrawonga’s new $60,000 scoreboard shone brightly but the action on the arena was rather dull before the Pigeons found another gear to run away with a 61-point win over Wangaratta on Saturday.
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It was a case of mistakes galore in the opening term with the defence of both teams on top.
Connor Hargreaves, Scott Oswald and Rick Barnes did well for the Pigeons and Daniel Boyle, Liam Harrington and Mick Bordignon played their roles well for the Magpies.
However, two players stood out.
Midfielders Tyler Bonat and Jamie Allan had countless possessions early before they went head to head in an absorbing contest — neither gave an inch.
Kayne Pettifer was the only multiple goalkicker in the first half but he missed the chance to kick a bag with four points from four set shots in Yarra- wonga’s wasteful 3.7 to 1.2 third term.
Midfielders Xavier Lelsie, Tim Cooper, Bonat, Marcus Hargreaves, Brady Pritchard and Matt Gorman did their job in the middle with the supply of ball to the forwards constant and precise in the final quarter.
Co-coach Brendan Fevola, well held by James Anderson, broke loose for four goals after Anderson was sent forward with the Magpies desperately looking for a goal-kicker.
“It’s a good position to be in,” co-coach Drew Barnes said after the Pigeons shored up a spot in the top three.
“We knew they were going to come over with a bit of momentum after last week so we had to be pretty defensive and give them respect, especially early in the game.
“I thought we did that.
“We didn’t make the most of our opportunities early, though.
“If we had taken them, it could have been a far different story but their intensity was good which forced those turnovers.”
Wangaratta coach Brendan Cairns couldn’t fault his team’s effort.
“But, again, we made basic skill errors and Yarrawonga made us pay on the way out,” Cairns said.
“You might say we lack forwards but I didn’t think we got the ball in there enough to give them their chances.”
Wangaratta’s fortunes will become clearer after the inter-league.
It faces a crunch match against Corowa-Rutherglen at Norm Minns Oval before finishing the first-half of the season against Wodonga and Myrtleford.
They will need at least two wins to stay in the mix for September action.
We knew they were going to come over with a bit of momentum after last week so we knew we had to be pretty defensive and really give them the respect especially early in the game.
DREW BARNES