Vermont has leap frogged into fourth place on the First Division ladder after recording an emphatic 51 point victory over Blackburn at Morton Park. Starting the day in eighth position, the Eagles despite a couple of lapses looked always in control of proceedings.
Ryan Mullett led the way in disposals with 29 while Daniel Mendes (27),Kris Bardon (24), Nathan Henley and Tom Schneider both (23) also figured prominently. Simon Taylor dominated in the ruck at the centre clearances and around the ground giving the midfielder every opportunity to get first use of the ball.
Shane Davidson got the Eagles on the board after just three minutes of the opening bounce when he coolly slotted a goal from the boundary at the railway end of the ground from 30 metres out. Blackburn did take a slender lead 10 minutes in when Winston O’Sullivan squeezed home a goal from a tight angle. But the Eagles bounced back with goals from Mullett and Matt Greig in close proximity.
Greig’s first senior goal since coming back from a knee reconstruction wasn’t pretty but it finally saw the champion forward finally get reward for his efforts over the past fortnight. When Ash Froud goaled at the 25 minute mark after converting a set shot from 40 metres the lead had moved out to 17 points by the quarter time siren.
Qtr Time: Blackburn 1-4-(10) Vermont 4-3-(27)
When Jack Lewis registered Blackburn’s second goal two minutes into the second quarter, the home side looked on the upward spiral and ready to fire. But eight straight points for the remainder of the quarter allowed the Eagles to capitalise on those squandered opportunities to blow out the lead to a healthy 38 points at the half time interval.
While the Burners could not buy a “major” the Eagles kicked five goals for the quarter through Robbie Ross, Lachie Johns, Ash Froud, Nathan Henley and Justin van Unen.
Half Time . Blackburn 2-12-(24) Vermont 9-8-(62)
The third quarter was always going to see the home side throw everything but the kitchen sink at the Eagles. That was certainly evident in the opening minute of the quarter when Ben Fraser broke the long sequence of points. Van Unen quickly hit back a minute later when he seized upon a defensive lapse to fire home from close range.
Blackburn’s version of “charge of the light brigade “saw the hosts kick four unanswered goals through Damon Arezzolo (2), Sam MacCauley and Adam Wilson to cut the deficit to three goals and suddenly the home crowd could sense that the door was well and truly ajar. But alas two late goals in quick succession in time on from the Eagles all but closed that door.
A classical centre bounce break involving Ross and Bardon resulted in Simon Taylor marking close to goal and having no trouble converting. When Henley nailed his second of the day from a fine snap and despite losing the quarter on the scoreboard the Eagles carried a 30 point lead into the final quarter.
Three Qtr Time Blackburn 7-14-(56) Vermont 12-14-(86)
Blackburn had a slight slimmer of hope again two minutes into the quarter when they turned what looked a certain Vermont goal into a classical “12”point play. When Froud’s attempted shot on goal was smothered the home team carried the ball clinically to the other end with MacCauley making no mistake.
Try as did to break down the Eagles defence it would prove to be to no avail as the likes of Dean Millhouse, Grant McCarthy and company held firm.
When another Froud shot was again smothered 10 minutes in this time there would be no rebound as Johns swooped on the loose ball and drilled home a fine opportunist goal.
The door was officially slammed tight three minutes later as the lead blew out to 39 points when David Barton unmanned ran into an open goal.
Going into the match needing four goals to bring up his 700th goal, Matt Greig kicked two late majors in time on to take him to three for the day.
While his goal kicking “mojo” is still not quite there yet, on gets the impression that it is not too far away.
Final Score Blackburn 8-16-(64) Vermont 16-19-(115)
Vermont Goals: M.Greig 3, J.van Unen 2, N.Henley 2, A.Froud 2, L.Johns 2, R.Ross, S.Taylor, R.Mullett, S.Davidson, D.Barton 1.
Vermont Best: (Watson’s Choice) D.Mendes, K.Bardon, N.Henley, R.Mullett, S.Taylor, T.Schneider.
Blackburn Goals: S.MacCauley, D.Arezzolo 2, B.Fraser, J.Lewis, A.Wilson, W.O’Sullivan 1. Blackburn Best:T.Faulkner, S.MacCauley, J.Wostelling, J.Windle, P.Bunn, J.Sandiford.
Last Modified on 13/05/2013 14:46