Thurgoona send Mitta United crashing back down to earth with upset victory

After a relatively even first-half, unheralded Bulldog forward Darcy Norman bobbed-up with three goals in the second-half to help sink the Mountain Men as the home side enjoyed a 13.14 (92) to 9.10 (64) victory.

Thurgoona tough-nut Zac Gibbons inspired the home side early when he dished out a bone jarring hip and shoulder on Jarrod Hodgkin that rattled the cage of the Morris medallist.

Hodgkin jogged from the ground holding his shoulder and didn't return with the Blues' and arguably the league's best player likely set for a stint on the sidelines.

It was a savage blow for the visitors who went into the clash undermanned and missing Louis Miller, Brendan Hodgkin, Jamie Baude and siblings William and Henry Teunon.

Young gun Jett Smith also spent much of the second-half on the bench with injury after kicking two goals earlier.

The Bulldogs were also dealt an injury blow when veteran Mark Haydon left the field early in the second-half with a compound fracture to his index finger.

Haydon wound back the clock in the first-half to drag down several strong contested marks and was instrumental in the Bulldogs leading by a goal at the main break.

The home side led by a goal at half-time and were able to gain the ascendancy in the third term.

A five minute burst by the Bulldogs mid-way during the third quarter quickly put the game beyond doubt.

Norman booted two of his three goals with Mat Howard and Luke Gerecke also hitting the scoreboard to hand the home side a match-winning 33 point lead.

Prized Wodonga recruit Ethan Redcliffe kicked this third goal late in the term to slash the lead to 27 points but was well held by Bulldogs skipper Tom Rake.

In a major surprise, Rake was handed the match-up on the league's leading goalkicker and was able to curb the match-winning ability of Redcliffe to emerge as the Bulldogs best player.

Both sides scored two goals in the final term with the Bulldogs eventually prevailing by 28 points.

Apart from Rake, it was the home side's lesser lights in Nathan Cook, Tyler Roberson, Riley Kerr, Jack Muldoon and Ben Ralph who were instrumental in the win.

A jubilant Thurgoona coach Dan Cleary was quick to label the victory as the Bulldogs' sweetest in the past two years.

"I'm rapt with the win and it's a bit of a reward for effort for the playing group to get the scalp of a top-five side," Cleary said.

"The last couple of weeks we have been building but have been only playing in patches.

"I rate that as our best four-quarter performance in the last two years.

"It was thanks largely to our lesser lights who stood tall and it's a credit to them.

"We've got a few smaller bodies in the side but they were able to crash in and lay some big tackles and have an impact.

"It's no secret Mitta is a physical side but we weren't going to be intimidated and were up for the challenge."

Cleary was full of admiration for Gibbons who enhanced his reputation as one of the competition's toughest players after a trademark big hit on Hodgkin.

"Pound for pound Zac is one of the toughest players in the competition and puts his body on the line every week," Cleary said.

"It was certainly a big hit and I think it took a bit of wind out of the sails of Zac as well but obviously Hodgkin felt it more after not coming back on.

"But that's why the playing group loves having Zac in the side, you know what he is going to give you and he makes sure he is going to have an impact on the contest every time he goes near it."

Cleary also paid tribute to Rake who was handed one of the toughest jobs in the competition and the match-up on Redcliffe.

"We didn't have an obvious match-up with the height and leg speed to play on Redcliffe," he said.

"He is just one of those blokes that is a nightmare to match-up not just for us but any side.

"I won't lie, Tom was a bit shocked when he was told who he was playing on.

"But to his credit, once he found out he embraced the challenge and to keep Redcliffe to three goals was an outstanding effort and no doubt a huge reason why we won the game."

The Blues were served best by coach Luke Hodgkin who led by example alongside Joel Wilson, Liam Tobin and Joe Hodgkin.

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