Sport / Football
Valiant NOBs fall short against ladder leaders
Brunswick NOBs 8.12 (60) lost to Preston Bullants 10.14 (74) at Gillon Oval
Tim Purdey
A brave Brunswick NOBs gave ladder leaders Preston an almighty fright in an enthralling encounter at Gillon Oval on Saturday, before eventually falling short by 14 points.
In the first term, both sides struggled to come to terms with a gusty northerly wind blowing across the ground, but it was the Bullants who drew first blood, before Angus Ross snapped truly for the NOBs after a well-constructed forward entry.
After the visitors had retaken the lead, Joe Gale slotted a nice set shot to tie things up at 2.5 apiece in the shadows of quarter-time.
Goals were again hard to come by at the start of the second quarter, with both sides trading behinds as the scores remained locked together, before Brunswick went on a scoring spree with three majors in as many minutes, all of them well-taken set shots to the Pearson Street end, through Gabe Banova, Liam Allman and Darcy Heenan.
Facing an 18-point deficit, the unbeaten Bullants responded with the final two goals of the half to close to within a kick at the long break.
Brunswick began the third term brightly, but Gale’s flying shot hit the post in the opening minute, before Preston regained the lead. Gale was in the action again soon after and put the NOBs back in front with his second, but the Bullants’ full forward, Serge Mariani, was proving to be a real thorn in Brunswick’’s side as he snagged his third.
The pendulum continued to swing, though, as Heenan bombed his second from outside 50 to put the NOBs one point up, then Mariani replied with his fourth, to give the Bullants the advantage by four points at the final change.
The wind had died down in the final quarter, but goalscoring continued to be difficult as both sides battled for territory, and Preston had ground their way to an 11-point lead at the 19-minute mark before Allman slotted his second, with another classy set shot from 40, to again make it a one kick game.
Brunswick continued to press but struggled to find avenues to goal, while the Bullants frustratingly transitioned the ball to Mariani for his fifth to make the margin 10 points.
With two minutes left on the clock, the NOBs had the chance to get it back to within a goal but a shot from close range hit the woodwork again, before Mariani’s sixth proved to be the nail in the coffin. Another Brunswick poster in the final minute seemed fitting, as they had played their hearts out but couldn’t provide the finishing touches to take the points.
Daniel Mott played a blinder in the middle, with his explosive run from stoppages a feature. Will McKenzie was back from injury and literally flying high at half-back, with a couple of screamers the highlights.
Teenager Hugo Johnston had a break-out game in defence, while captain Ben Wilson was a key in a midfield that dominated large parts of the game. Ben Young continued his excellent start to the year, while Tahj Haddock was also very good down back. NOBs return to Brens Oval this Saturday looking to get back on the winners’ list against UHS-VU, who have had a tough start to the season but always seem to lift playing their old co-tenants.
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