Fast finish just too late

By Todd Whelan

Melton South hung on to beat a fast finishing Bacchus Marsh in a one point thriller at Maddingley Park. The Panthers led by 29 points at the final change before the Cobras kicked the last five goals of the game. Scoreboard aside, a Cobras win, given the nature of what transpired would have been daylight robbery. The Panthers by and large deserved the points and exposed the Cobras with their dare, spread and leg speed to lead at every change despite the absence of star forward Dylan Conway (illness).

Will Thornton Gielen (5 goals) assumed the responsibility hitting the scoreboard in the absence of Conway and was the beneficiary of impressive contributions from Shaun Wyatt, Jake Thornton-Gielen, Cody Chapman, Mitch Fino and Billy Lloyd. Brody Sullivan’s two first half goals were quality amid periods of an old fashioned scrap.

But the Panthers are to be commended for taking the game on, denying the Cobras much of the footy on their own terms despite the ongoing efforts of dangerous trio Jake Owen (3 goals), Rex Hickman (4 goals) and Daniel Burton. It’s ironic, that four of the last five Panthers wins (over the last two seasons) have been against Sunbury (twice) and Bacchus Marsh (twice). Getting it done in the ‘West’ remains the Panthers achilles heel (0-15) since 2018.

There’s plenty of upside for the Cobras to take from the game with the promising emergence of young talent – namely Max Eastmure, Jack Parente and debutant Joel Freeman (2 goals).

Each had their moments in the game to suggest they’re potential 200 game players – the future looks bright.

Playing Cobras coach Tom German was very effective off a wing in the first half and looked to have more time with the ball and used it accordingly. His clean ball use off this under rated position was refreshing amid an otherwise ‘choppy’ opening half on the efficiency front for the Cobras.

The Cobras can take some learnings from the last 15 minutes of the game alone when they played with the dare and purpose people like to watch. It can be horrible when it fails, but with time invested, could be the diffrence matching with the best.

The Cobras face back-to-back highway trips to East Point and North Ballarat – it doesn’t get much tougher – but if they can execute as they did late on Saturday, surely they’re a chance.

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

 https://issuu.com/themooraboolnews/docs/mn_2022-05-24/11

in the 24 May 2022 edition
OR
pick up a paper around your town.