Magpies prevail in derby thriller

THE second derby of the year lived up to its hype. Wangaratta Magpies have looked virtually unstoppable this year but Wangaratta Rovers showed the rest of the competition that the 'Pies are beatable, falling by just 14 points at WJ Findlay Oval on Saturday. It was a one–sided affair early in the first term with Wangaratta taking the first three inside 50s thanks to plenty of pressure from their forwards. The Magpies were rewarded with the first goal from Paddy Warner, but the Hawks got back in the game in the second half of the first term. Tom Boyd got his side off and running with some brilliance. The mobile forward kicked inside 50 to Jayden Bear from centre wing and followed his kick up to take a mark 30 metres out where he then kicked his set shot through the middle. Charlie Thompson returned in emphatic fashion, kicking the goal of the day from his first kick when he turned his opponent 'inside out' on the boundary and snapped on a tight angle 30 metres out. From there, it was a game of momentum all day with both sides having their moments, but ultimately it was the Magpies which ran away 11.12 (78) to 9.10 (64) winners. "We knew it wasn't going to be a similar contest to our first clash because both teams were really different," Magpies coach Ben Reid said. "It was a good game of footy I thought, it wasn't pretty but it was just a good, contested game. "Credit to Rovers they shut down our outside ball a little bit and Todd Bryant did a pretty good job on Joe (Richards) as well." Rovers were missing former Western Bulldog player Lukas Webb, who injured a hamstring at training, and is expected to miss Saturday's blockbuster against Albury, while the Pies lost Reid, Jessie Smith and Zac Leitch. The experienced Matt Hedin joined youngsters Tyler Norton and Harry Hewitt in the team. "I actually rang Harry at 8pm on Friday night to let him know he was playing senior and not thirds," Reid said. "Credit to Harry he was ready to go and then played a really good game. "I thought all three of the guys we brought in played really well." Fraser Ellis played one of the best games of his blossoming career and was named Wangaratta's best. "I thought Fraser played his best game of the year, if not his career," Reid said. "Jackson Clark probably didn't have his biggest game, stats wise, but his presence and one–on–one contests were terrific. "Daniel Sharrock had another good game too." The clash of Callum Moore and Nathan Cooper shaped as one of the most intriguing contests of the day but that was short lived when Cooper had to leave the ground with a soft tissue injury. The 'Pies led by just eight points at the final break but took some sting out of the game by kicking the first two goals of the last quarter. "I was really proud of our last quarter," Reid said. "It was a really gritty last quarter and the boys were determined to come out on top. "We kicked the first two goals of the last quarter which took some fizz out of the game and then we were able to control it a little bit from there. "These sorts of games are the ones we need to learn to win because no doubt we'll play a similar sort of game in finals." Wangaratta Rovers coach Daryn Cresswell was proud of his team's effort. "I couldn't question their effort, we really wanted to make their defence accountable, we did it for long periods, but not long enough," Cresswell told Radio 3NE. Sam Murray racked up plenty of ball in the Hawks' back half, while Sam Carpenter and Jack Gerrish were also terrific for the home side.

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