Maroons Hold Magpies Out

The ladder positions alone prior to Boort and Nullawil facing off at the Magpie nest promised a tight contest, and the supporters were treated to exactly that.

Both sides stood on 2 wins and were equally desperate to move up the ladder as the halfway point of the season approached.

A strong breeze favoured the northern end and the Magpies took full advantage of it in the first quarter. They were dominant through the middle which gave the Nully defenders little hope with the forwards Fitzpatrick, Holland and Keeble all looking dangerous. The Boort boys were up and about at quarter time as they piled on 7 goals to the Maroons’ solitary major.

The second quarter would suggest the wind was playing a bigger factor than initially thought, as momentum was swung around completely. Despite losing big-man Dean Putt early, the boys in maroon were asserting some dominance in the midfield, led by Andrew Oberdorfer and Daniel Watts. Nully put on 8 goals to sneak ahead at the half time interval by a meagre 1-point margin.

After the break the breeze had dropped and a fierce battle was starting to heat up. Each side was giving its all but to little reward at either end. Nullawil had the only major of the quarter but was rueing some missed opportunities to put the contest to bed. Dean Smith and Zac Caccaviello stood out for their tough in and under presence.

It was all to play for in the last half hour and both sides were giving their all. The game had opened up and became a battle of physical and mental fitness as the ball was moving up and down each wing at pace. Nully managed to get out to a 15-point lead before the Magpies surged late to make it go down to the wire. At the final siren it was the Maroons who took home the 4 premiership points.

Final scores: Nullawil 13.9 (87), Boort 12.6 (78).

Better players for Nullawil were Daniel Watts, Zac Caccaviello and Andrew Oberdorfer. For Boort it was Matt Austin, Jarrod Fitzpatrick and Keiren Wilson who were named as best.

The games don’t get any easier for each team, with Nullawil facing an in-form Wedderburn, whilst Boort will need to roll the third placed Donald to keep its final hopes alive.