Roosters land coveted big scalp

COMING off a loss to one of its rivals for the likely two only open finals vacancies in Bacchus Marsh, North Ballarat coach Clint Proctor made no secret of his desire to claim a top four scalp in one of their next two matches.

Last Saturday, the Roosters delivered at the first opportunity, scrapping their way to a 15-point win over Sunbury at Mars Stadium.

A season-best win for the Roosters kept top six aspirants Ballarat and Sebastopol, which both enjoyed wins, at bay for at least another week, and pushed themselves within two points of the fifth-placed Cobras above.

In a miserly defensive effort, the Roosters restricted the normally free-scoring Lions to just four goals for the game and only one after half-time.

Proctor hailed the win as reward for hard work and application, with the foundations laid in a diligent and ultra-competitive second half the previous week at Bacchus Marsh.

“The boys were great; they played really good defensive football and cracked in hard. The pressure was elite,” the first-year Roosters coach said.

“I thought the boys really dialled in on their contested footy and how we wanted to defend the ground and work the stoppages. “It was a really good team effort.

“The good thing against Bacchus was they didn’t give up. They won the last quarter and that was something we could take into the next week.

“That was important for us to win the last quarter against Bacchus Marsh and then to turn up against Sunbury and continue on.

“There is a great buy-in from the players at the moment.”

Plundered by injuries throughout this season, the win came with the bonus of no new casualties for the second week in a row, much to the coach’s delight.

“The more it goes on like this, the more chance we might get a few (players) back soon,” Proctor said.

“We get our ruckman Cam McCallum back next week, which will help a lot.

“But interestingly enough, young Finn Russell, he played a super game.

“It looks like we can potentially play the two of them, which is a really nice thing to have up our sleeve.

“Finn took some nice marks around the ground and he’s getting some confidence up.

 

“He’s still only lightly framed, but for a 16-year-old, who’s 200cm now, he’s got a big future ahead of him.”

Typifying the strong work ethic that underpinned the win, Proctor singled out the effort of Olie Huf in defence.

“Olie is a real clubman – a reserves-senior player – but a terrific human and just a great guy,” he said.

“He’s got his chance with injuries, and he played on Jake Egan and was instrumental in pressuring him around the contest, and his tackle pressure was elite.

“He was the difference in the end. We set the game up to nullify their strengths as they are such a strong scoring team, and Olie led the way.”

Captains Elliott Lamb and Simon McCartin led from the front, while Reggie Palmer had plenty of good moments on the wing, and helped set up a couple of goals with his two-way running and all-round pressure and ball use.

Josh Morris also won plaudits for a top job on dangerous Lions forward Jake Sutton.

For Sunbury, Riley Miller, Murphy Boyd, Blake Walker and Mitch McLean were all prominent.

The Roosters will be eager to back up their good work this Saturday against Melton, with the Bloods looking to atone for three straight losses to Darley, Redan and last Saturday against Sebastopol.

Proctor hoped his side would gain plenty of belief from the win.

“For such a young team, a win like that shows just what is capable against a top four team,” he said.

“Hopefully it instils a bit of desire to go hard against Melton.

“They were terrific the first time around against us and are obviously a really well-drilled team; a class side.

“They are really tough, but we weren’t too far away, so we give ourselves every chance.”

A week after upsetting reigning premier Melton, Redan put up another good effort in a 22-point loss to an inaccurate East Point.

Darley kept its hold on top spot with a 17-point win in the cross-town derby against a brave Bacchus Marsh.

Jayven Tanner kicked five goals for the Devils.

Round 13 recap: Ballarat 18.13 (121) defeated Lake Wendouree 6.5 (41); Darley 15.5 (95) defeated Bacchus Marsh 11.12 (78); Melton 7.15 (57) lost to Sebastopol 11.11 (77); North Ballarat 6.8 (44) defeated Sunbury 4.5 (29); Redan 5.7 (37) lost to East Point 7.17 (59).

Round 14: Sunbury v Ballarat; Sebastopol v Redan; East Point v Bacchus Marsh; Darley v Lake Wendouree; North Ballarat v Melton.