MURRAY Bushrangers coach Leon Higgins conceded his team was fortunate to hold on for a draw against Sandringham Dragons at Wangaratta’s Norm Minns Oval on Sunday.
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With the ladder leader being without a bench after half-time and the Dragons having more scoring shots, Higgins was satisfied to split the points.
“We were a bit inconsistent today,” Higgins said.
“We were probably lucky to get away with a draw.
“I thought we lost control of the stoppages for periods of time and that cost us goals.
“We fought all the way to the end though.”
Wangaratta’s Nick Richards was outstanding as a small forward while Mitta United’s Ben Paton won plenty of possessions in the midfield.
Paton capped off his best game in the TAC Cup with three telling goals.
Mason Marr, Louis Pinnuck and Will Donaghey were also effective in the windy conditions.
Harry Morrison hurt his back in the opening minute, Jayden Gallagher injured his Achilles and Isaac Wallace went down with a knee problem soon after half-time.
“We had no rotations after half-time,” he said.
“It was a good effort to hold on when you take everything into consideration on the day.
“The boys hung in there.”
Sandringham led by as much as three goals in the final quarter before the Bushrangers fought back and Will Brodie kicked truly in the dying stages to square the ledger.
The Dragons were best served by Harrison Burt while Thomas Maloney snared four goals in a low-scoring contest.
Both teams were missing key players.
Max Lynch, Todd Marshall, Fletcher Carroll, Ryan Garthwaite, Zach Sproule, Alex Paech and Charlie Spargo were unavailable due to NSW under-18 commitments.
They will be out for another three weeks.
Albury’s Bill Robertson remains on the injury list along with Nathan Oakes.
Sandringham also played without several stars due to school football.
Murray Bushrangers and Sandringham are sitting on top of the ladder with Dandenong, Geelong and Oakleigh two premiership points behind.
The Bushrangers take on Calder Cannons at RAMS Arena on Saturday.
In other matches, Dandenong play Northern Knights, Geelong meet Western Jets, North Ballarat play Oakleigh, Bendigo tackle Eastern Ranges and Gippsland do battle with Sandringham.
