Cobras bleed over loss

By Todd Whelan

An old-fashioned half-time spray from Bloods Coach Aaron Tymms had the desired effect as Melton ‘did enough’ to remain the only undefeated BFNL club, downing the Cobras by 28 points at Maddingley Park.

So why the spray?

Put simply, Melton’s use of the ball with the aid of a four goal breeze in the opening term especially, was poor and their revered ‘system’ a shadow of their own expectations. The Bloods found themselves on the back foot in the second term leading by just two points (kicked only one goal) and were forced to quell the Cobras inevitable momentum with the breeze. Despite trailing at half time (11 points) and the damage minimised, the Bloods were starting to resemble a little more of their cohesive style.

Credit to the Cobras denying the Bloods the game on their own terms for the most part, as Tom German’s men were more direct by foot with the breeze but couldn’t get true bang for buck from their forward 50 entries. The midfield led by Nick Stuhldrier, Daniel Burton, Harry King and Tom German were matching their more fancied opponents between the arcs to earn a slender half time advantage.

The Bloods hit the gas in the third term with seven unanswered goals with Ryan Carter (3) and Braeden Kight (2) the focal points. With Cobras playing coach Tom German potentially hamstrung on the sidelines, the Bloods midfield led by Jack Walker went to another level despite the tireless efforts of Burton, Stuhldrier and King who found themselves under the pump. New Cobra Rex Hickman (2 goals) was lively forward and Captain Jake Owen (2 goals) continued to present and test the Bloods defence. The Owen match up became a two and sometimes three on one, such was the weight of importance placed on the proven matchwinner by the opposition defence.

The Cobras kept their slim chances alive with two goals in the opening three minutes of the final term before the Bloods steadied to secure the win. Hindsight, often the best judge, identified the Bloods general evenness from player 1 thru 22 to play a significant role.  While the disparity between the two sides in this area is debatable, one cannot deny the small sample size that was Saturday – a 28 point difference. That’s about right.

While Bacchus Marsh have the bye in round four, an eagle eye from the Cobra faithful will be on the outcome of Jake Owen’s appeal against a two week penalty imposed by the Match Review for an incident during the Anzac Day weekend game against Darley. The outcome is expected this week.

To read the full story – Simply click on the following link

https://issuu.com/themooraboolnews/docs/mn_2022-05-03/21

in the 3 May 2022 edition
OR
pick up a paper around your town.