Dragons withstand persistentHawks challenge

SEPTEMBER came a few months early for Sandhurst last Saturday and co-coach Bryce Curnow was pleased with his side’s response.

The Dragons withstood a fierce challenge from their 2025 grand final conquerors to win a tense and high-stakes contest at the QEO by 21 points.

Their second meeting for the season in some ways resembled their first back in round 1 at Canterbury Park, with the Dragons stealing a crucial couple of goals break and standing tall in the second half as the Hawks challenged.

A 10.9 (69) to 7.6 (48) victory saw the Dragons jump into third spot, level at 7-2 with Gisborne (second) and South Bendigo (fourth).

Curnow praised his players’ resilience and ability to withstand a challenge against a Hawks team looking for their first top five scalp.

“We were certainly challenged multiple times through the game and didn’t have a lot of ball on our terms,” he said.

“We had to react and be strong and we were able to do that.

“Luckily, they didn’t put too much scoreboard pressure on us, so we were able to stem the tide and break the game open a bit after quarter-time.

“We unfortunately didn’t capitalise in the third quarter, where we could have finished off the game.

“Credit to the boys, they pulled through and finished off quite well.

“They (Eaglehawk) will be there and abouts this year.

“They have had their injuries and different personnel missing for different reasons, but I’m sure they will be up there, so it was positive to come away with the points.”

Co-coach Fergus Greene led from the front for the Dragons, ably supported by the likes of Liam Ireland, Oliver Morris, Cooper Smith and Matthew Wilkinson.

A feature in recent weeks, the strong contributions from their younger brigade, was again highlighted by the impact of Jaxon Howard.

“In only his 10th senior game of football, he played incredibly well,” Curnow said.

“We actually started him forward and then he went down back and looked really strong.

“Ollie Morris was another who stood out and Cooper Smith.

“It was a great mix of young and old and leaders who did it for us.

“We’re fortunate at the moment to not be relying on two or three players to win us games.

“If we keep exposing the young guys to tough games, it’s surely going to pay off at some stage down the track and hopefully in finals if we get to that stage.”

Pleasingly for the Dragons, the news from the medical room was good, emerging with a clean bill of health.

“It’s nice to get a bit of continuity,” Curnow said. “We’ve had a few boys return to footy through the reserves in the last couple of weeks, which is really positive going forward.”

The loss snapped the Hawks’ winning streak at two and finds them in a titanic battle for fifth spot with Castlemaine ahead of a clash against Golden Square.

Ruckman Callum Heath, Charlie Langford, Joel Mullen, Billy Evans and Ben Thompson led the charge for the Hawks, who will need to improve their inside forward 50 efficiency.

They got two goals on debut from mid-season recruit Jacquin Mifsud.