Central come close – South destroy West

AFL Broken Hill’s Men’s Senior League played second fiddle to the Women’s Inter-League clash with Sunraysia this weekend, with fixtures beginning at the slightly earlier time of 1.15pm on Saturday.

The early start time did nothing to dilute the talent on display as the South juggernaut continued with a 176-point demolition job against West at Alma Oval, while North was put to the test by a resurgent Central, running out 15-point victors over the bottom placed side at the local home of AFL, Jubilee Oval.

North vs Central

Central got off to a flyer against the highly fancied Bulldogs. A five goal to one first quarter gave Sheldon Hall’s side the advantage, with Sam Wilson dominating up forward and slotting home three goals in the first quarter. North’s profligacy in front of goal hampered any scoreboard impact they were trying to have.

The advantage for the Magpies was short lived as they failed to trouble the scorers in the second quarter while North piled on six goals to wrestle the advantage and take a 23-point lead into the main break. It really should have been more, but North’s inaccuracy in front of goal saw them fail to take the lead their play deserved.

Central rallied the troops in the third quarter, but this time it was the Magpies who were struck with a bout of the yips in front of goal, and a late North goal in the third quarter saw Mark Pitt’s side take a handy three goal advantage into the final term.

North’s inaccuracy came to the fore yet again, kicking 2.9 for the quarter. Central rallied late and managed four majors for the term but were beaten by the clock, with the final siren before they could complete the comeback.

“I can’t say I am not heartbroken with the loss, but on the positive side the boys were fantastic today,” Central coach Sheldon Hall told the Truth.

“There are a lot of positives to come out of it, but it’s just that lapse in the second quarter that has become our Achilles Heel.

“We will keep battling for third place. We haven’t put the white flag up yet. “

Jaydn Kelly was immense for the Bulldogs in the midfield. Ethan Harvey-Hocking was fantastic too, whilst youngster Cohen Tonkin kicked two crucial goals.

For Central, Sam Wilson was the star, kicking seven goals from full forward, while Nick Devoy was pivotal in the middle when Central needed someone to stand up and drag them back into the contest in the second half.

South vs West

South Roos maintained their superiority over the rest of the league with a mammoth victory over West in a contest that will have no doubt pleased the home support. Less so West coach Nathan Pearce.

The Robins were never really in the contest, with South piling on an eight goal first term while West failed to trouble the scorers.

The rest of the match followed a similar pattern, with South piling on the goals, while West fed off the scraps of the rare mistakes Craig Thomas’s side made.

Cody Schorn kicked his obligatory bag of goals – this week it totalled nine – while he was supported by Alex Johnston in the forward line who chipped in his own haul of five goals. Marc Purcell reaffirmed his status as one of the best players in town with another immense performance, and Dylan Browne was brilliant too.

“Our own back men don’t like training against Cat [Cody Schorn]. They know what he is going to do and we still can’t stop it, so how is North, Central and West supposed to do it?” South coach Craig Thomas told the Truth.

“What was really pleasing was that we played four quarters of football this week. We’ve been good in patches in different stages of quarters and games this season, but on Saturday we played the whole four quarters,” Coach Thomas said.

West’s captain, Sage Hocking, never stopped trying, with Paddy Attard and Daniel Milne were notable as well.

This week North take on a West side which will be keen to bounce back at Jubilee Oval, while Central has the unenviable job of hosting South at Memorial Oval. Both matches begin at 2.30pm.