It wasn’t pretty, but a win’s a win. Wangaratta Rovers knocked off fellow finals-bound side Yarrawonga with a thousand cuts, but managing a 54-point win, 10.20 (80) to 4.2 (26) at WJ Findlay Oval. With finals just around the corner, the Rovers were keen to test themselves against a quality opposition, and the match started off on an even keel before the home side stretched their legs. After the first break, the Rovers were dominating possession and really dictating terms – if only they could kick straight. The second quarter saw the Rovers kick an astonishing 1.8, and while they were defensively sound, not conceding a score though the term, they only took an 11-point win into half-time. They say poor goalkicking is poor footy, and while they straightened up in the third, kicking four goals to Yarrawonga’s one, shots were still flying wide of the big sticks. The Pigeons were outclassed, unable to move the ball with any meaning into their forward line before it was mopped up and sent back the other way, but the Rovers left plenty of goals out there. A fourth quarter barrage yielded four goals and six behinds, a fairly ugly display on what could have been a scoreline for the ages. Rovers football operations manager Mario Antonello said they were focussing on the positives from the weekend. “It was good to have another win going into finals to try and get a bit of momentum against a top five team,” he said. “The kicking was a little bit off, obviously we had a fair bit of the ball and had a lot of shots on goal, so that was really positive – convert them, and it’s a really different story. “If you convert half of them, you put another 10 goals on the board and 20.10 is a blowout. “We’re pretty happy with the win.” Charles Ledger, Charlie Thompson and Keiren Parnell were named in the best on ground for the Rovers, while Will Christie (three goals) and Alex McCarthy (two goals) kicked multiple goals. Antonello praised the defensive structure for greatly limiting Yarrawonga’s scoring opportunities, but reiterated it was a whole-team win. “It’s been a bit of a different look now with Tom Boyd going to centre half back, his intercept marking and direction he gives the rest of the defence is really good,” he said. “We’ve got some good leaders there as well, Keiren Parnell played which really helped. “Noah Scholte was very good on a wing, Charlie Thompson and Mitch Hardie were the engine room, but everyone did their bit.” The result sees the Rovers maintain second place on the ladder, needing a win over Myrtleford and the Magpies to stumble against Wodonga in the last round to retake top spot. Meanwhile, the Magpies scratched out a five-point win over North Albury at Bunton Park, surviving a second-half surge by the Hoppers but coming away with the points, 7.10 (52) to 6.11 (47). Wangaratta were three goals behind at the 17-minute mark of the third term, but a settler from Will O’Keefe going into the final break helped reignite the ‘Pies. Goals to Jackson Clarke, Mat Grossman and James McClounan gave the visitors the lead before North Albury’s Chris Iannelli kicked true. With mere minutes to go, Jackson Clarke scored a handy behind to bring the deficit to one point before slotting the sealer in a best on ground performance from the skipper. Angus Jayet, Daniel Sharrock and Harrison Smart also starred in the low-scoring thriller.
