Round 12: Hillers home in thriller

Panton Hill: 15.11-101
Reservoir: 15.10-100

Goal Kickers: J. Whitcher 7, D. Butler 3, D. Pratt 2, A. Miller, T. Power, B. Strongman
Best Players: J. Whitcher, T. Power, B. Strongman, W. Box, J. White, G. Mc Auliffe

After a much improved week on the training track the first quarter started well. The hillers had a majority of the play but took their time to make it show on the score board. The backline were very solid and allowed the home side to take a three goal advantage into the first break.

The second quarter saw Reservoir get right back into the game as they kicked the first four goals unanswered. But the Hillers steadied and were able to spot up targets in attack and answered back to lead by a goal at half time.

The third stanza was fairly level pegging but the hills, kicking to the scoring end, managed to extend the lead back out to the three goal buffer at the final change.

Reservoir again kicked the first four goals of the term to snatch a narrow lead and the crowd had their heads in their hands. The quarter agonisingly dragged on with Ressa maintaining a slender lead until Justin Witcher, deep in the forward pocket, miraculously saw some daylight between the big sticks and bobbed up for his seventh goal of the afternoon. This sent the local crowd into raptures but there was another excruciating minute to come. A couple of ball ups and boundary throw-ins in the defensive fifty would have done nothing for those with a heart condition, but the Redbacks dug deep and managed to hold strong for a thrilling one point victory!

You can’t go past Witcher, the seven goal hero, but once again ‘Max’ Power was at his evasive best and was a very close second in the BOG honours. Stringa McAuliffe had the fist primed was superb in defence – he will be looking for a call up to the AFL this week after leaving Robert Powell thinking his 66 league games (for Richmond and St. Kilda) were a walk in the park in comparison to being stitched up by the ‘super-fist’! Strongy just continues to firm as favourite for the B&F as the weeks pass by and Boxy ignored the fact he had a bruise the size of a large continent on the back of his leg to post a very solid performance.

In a game that ebbed and flowed, and well and truly looked like it could have slipped away showed real character and commitment from the boys to get over the line. The relief as the final siren blared was evident. Rambo the nervous wrecked ran out and embraced the players as the celebrated on the ground and then jubilant home crowd piled into the rooms and helped them belt out the song.


RESERVES TAKE ANOTHER SMALL STEP FORWARD

Panton Hill: 4.2-26
Reservoir: 23.21-159

Goal Kickers: G. Wise 2, A. Anderson 2
Best Players: M. Constantine, A. Anderson, D. Collins, T. Dummett, A. Flanagan, W. Binnion

Saturday’s match at home was always going to be tough with a forever-mounting injury list that doesn’t seem to be slowing down. This meant that the Reserves lost some more experienced players to the senior side, making the task all the more difficult. However, Redbacks never say die, and the team was switched on from the outset.

The result was a very even match for three and a half quarters, however the Hills boys just couldn’t make an impact on the scoreboard. Unfortunately, the tired legs appeared to get the better of the players in the last ten minutes of the match, as the side effectively “rolled over,” and opened the flood-gates for the Reservoir team to tear the game apart all too easily.

Jono (Coach) was mostly pleased with the efforts of his team, and believes that the side took another step forward, although made it clear that the lacklustre efforts of the dying stages of the game will not be tolerated in the future. The message being that there is still a long road ahead to achieve the team goals, but the right signs are there.

The Redbacks were led by a solid four-quarter effort from Conno, who provided some much-needed run out of the backline, and linked up well with the midfield in what was possibly his best match for the club to date. Adam Anderson was equally effective, and more damaging on the scoreboard, providing plenty of clearances around the centre and chipping in with two goals, including a team-lifting 40 metre running goal across his body.

Dylan and Ty were also busy all day, adding some muscle to the contest and getting plenty of the ball themselves, while Flange used his experience to his advantage and set up play across the half forward line. Wazza continued to build on his improved recent form, getting plenty of the pill playing at half forward, and continually beating his opponent. First-gamer Jamie Cunningham also showed some promise for the Hills which will give him some confidence for the remainder of the season.

Next week is another mouth-watering contest over at the new South Morang ground, which is in the Mill Park Lakes estate. The slightly larger, well kept ground should give the Hills players an ideal platform to take the next step, hopefully in front of a strong Panton Hill contingent.