Burra power past Swans to stamp premiership credentials

SEBASTOPOL has sent its most ominous premiership warning yet, taking care of Ballarat for the second time this season in a breathtaking 31-point win at Marty Busch Reserve.

In a remarkable turnaround, the Burra came from 20 points down early in the final quarter to unleash an astonishing eight-goal blitz to win 16.11 (107) to 11.10 (76).

The Burra’s 10th win of the season delivered them outright top spot on the ladder, as injury-ravaged Darley, which defeated East Point by 72 points, replaced the Swans in second spot.

The Devils, Swans and North Ballarat, which defeated Bacchus Marsh by 58 points at Mars Stadium, will all head into round 13 at 9-3.

Staring down the barrel at 20 points down five minutes into the final quarter, the Burra – brilliantly led by their dominant engine room – ignited.

 

Goals to Bailey Medwell, Jack Bambury and Lachlan Cassidy within the space of three minutes turned the game on its head, just as the Swans had done earlier with six goals in a 15-minute burst either side of the three-quarter-time break.

What followed next was simply sublime as the Burra, making a mockery of the soggy conditions and driving rain, ruthlessly took the match away from the Swans.

A thorn in Ballarat’s side when the two teams met earlier in the season, Adam Forbes again got hold of the Swans with three late goals to put an exclamation mark on a stunning victory.

It was achieved without input from the Burra’s playing coach Tony Lockyer, who was forced to watch from the sidelines, unable to even coach due to a two-week suspension for rough play emanating from their round 11 game against North Ballarat.

His replacement Shane Snibson hailed the Burra’s response to the Swans’ own six-goal burst as ‘super’ and praised the Burra’s midfield group for setting the tone with its intensity and work-rate.

 

“Ballarat are a strong team and they play a good brand of footy, but I just felt our midfield needed to lead from the front and get the game on our terms,” he said.

“I felt in the first quarter, into the wind, we played really well and it set us up well for the rest of the day.

“We spoke pre-game about players wanting to take the responsibility to meet their capability.

“We’ve played some pretty strong footy (this season) and we just wanted to see that more often than not today.”

Even after early final-quarter goals to Biggie Nyuon and midfielder Fraser Perkins, Snibson found no cause for panic, believing that with a strong breeze at their backs, time more than the wind was on the Burra’s side.

“The third quarter went for 34 minutes, so we knew there was going to be a lot of time (in the last),” he said.

 

“That last went 37 and a half, which is unbelievably long.

“Ballarat are well led by (ruck) Paddy Graham and they can then have some confidence around how aggressive they are at stoppages.

“We just made some adjustments and threw Cassidy forward for a bit and threw Medwell, Bambury and (Felix) Henderson around. Centre bounces with the wind are pretty important.

“Their finish with those three goals was pretty important.

“I felt early in that last quarter they were running a bit harder than us, but once the rain came, we contested a bit harder than them. The rain really worked in our favour.

“Even though we had the wind, once it was a scramble, the boys were good.”

The foundations for the win were laid in the opening term, when the Burra restricted the Swans to just two goals while booting two of their own to trail by a solitary point.

 

While Bambury, Henderson, Cassidy and Toby Hutt continued their stellar form, Snibson found praise for others delegated more specific team-oriented roles.

“To compete with good teams, you need to have players who sacrifice and play a role,” he said.

“I’ve always respected those who play a team role.

“Young (Lachy) Rokebrand played on Alex Keath and just wore him like a glove all day. He’s an important player for them.

“Luke Kiel had to step in and play the coach’s job of being an extra down in the backline and he did it well.

“I was really proud of players stepping up to fill those roles.

 

“You need your ball winners to move the dial, but you need your role players to get it done and that’s what we got today.”

The fast-emerging Jacob Fletcher was another singled out for his pressure and intensity.

An intriguing match-up against Redan, which continued its solid recent form with a win over Sunbury, awaits the Burra, with Snibson back at the helm.

He’s been quick to identify one area of their game that will require some slight tinkering.

“Redan run and carry the footy pretty well, so it will come down to how we get the footy post-clearance,” he said. “When Ballarat looked good, it was when Perkins was getting forward of the footy as a midfielder.

“Post-stoppage stuff is important.

“I feel we are confident in tight, it’s just the away-from-the-ball stuff that needs some attention.”