By David Nagel
A stunning seven-goal burst – inspired by the talented Billy Taylor – has propelled Phillip Island to a 31-point victory over Cora Lynn in the WGFNC Match of the Day at Cowes.
Taylor helped break a half-time deadlock, kicking four goals in the third term alone, as the Bulldogs presided over the only dominant period of the match.
Taylor would finish with five, with his opening last-quarter goal snuffing out any chance of a late Cobras revival.
Ben Taylor was one of two inclusions for the Bulldogs, who also welcomed back Orlando Kane-Gillard – the last-gasp hero of last year’s preliminary final.
The Doggies had the better of the opening exchanges, with a Max Blake six-pointer being quickly answered by Cobras sharp-shooter Ryan Gillis.
Jack Taylor and Blake then missed gilt-edged opportunities for the Bulldogs, before Bryce Hindhaugh and coach Cam Pedersen converted to make it a 14-point ballgame.
Brendan Kimber then set the scene with a crunching tackle on Luke Hartley…and the Bulldogs looked up and about.
But somehow the Cobras fought back, with Nathan Gardiner converting a two-on-one speckie, and Jai Rout narrowing the margin to just one point at the first break after some inspirational play from skipper Tim Payne.
The Cobras would have been in all sorts of trouble, if not for the efforts of Cory Machaya early, while Nathan Gillis joined the battle towards the end of the first term.
The second term failed to reach great heights, with costly turnovers the dominant stat of the quarter.
Both teams were good behind the footy; although a turnover from Billy Thomas – which resulted in a goal to Jack Taylor – won’t be a part of a fantastic highlights package at the end of his career.
A late goal to Kane-Gillard, the first of his three, locked scores away at 42 each at the major interval.
The Bulldogs ran rampant in the third, kicking to the clubrooms end of the ground.
Eli Richards started the onslaught after three minutes, before Billy Taylor put the Bulldogs two goals ahead as eight minutes ticked by.
Taylor then received from brother Ben, at the 11-minute mark, with Pedersen completing an unanswered four-goal surge just two minutes later.
Nathan Gillis cut the lead back to 20, but when Billy Taylor kicked two consecutive goals – within two minutes – the contest was effectively over.
A let goal to Kane-Gillard stretched the margin to an unassailable 38 points at three-quarter time.
It was an impressive burst from the Doggies, with Hayden Bruce in sensational touch through the midfield, and Kimber winding back the clock against his former club.
Jack Taylor was also exceptional across four quarters, while Cam Brown was also effective in his 50th game in the WGFNC.
The Cobras were typically brave, with Ryan Gillis somehow conjuring five goals from limited opportunities and Gardiner finishing with four.
Matt Ryan produced an honest performance across half forward, while Matt Briggs and Luke Ryan were solid contributors in defence.
The Cobras are being forced to play players out of position at the moment, and lack the explosive leg-speed of years gone by with Jaxon Briggs sitting on the sidelines with a shoulder.
Coach Shaun Sparks could not possibly question their effort, but the task gets even tougher with a trip to Inverloch this week, before a more modest assignment against Kilcunda Bass at home.
The Doggies will head to the bye with two more wins under their belts…with Korumburra Bena and Garfield looming on the horizon.
The emergence of Adam Oxley as a genuine forward threat continued at Dalyston on Saturday, with the former Collingwood livewire kicking six goals in Tooradin-Dalmore’s 20.12.132 to 5.7.37 victory over the Magpies.
Oxley, who has now played 40 consecutive games since moving to the Gulls in 2021, has dominated the half-back line for Lachie Gillespie…with his lethal right foot setting up many scoring opportunities.
But the switch forward has proved a masterstroke, with Oxley kicking 18 goals for the season…including 12 in his last three games.
The Seagulls were superb with the wind at their backs on the weekend, kicking 8.3 to 1.1 in the first term and backing that up with 7.2 to no score in the third.
It was a dominance that the Magpies just failed to contend with.
Stewie Scanlon added three to last week’s haul of six, and his combination with Oxley – who will start to attract attention – is all-of-a-sudden very exciting.
The class of Hayden Bertoli-Simmonds and Brent Macaffer also stood out on the weekend, while Brad Butler’s solitary major saw him become player 35 to kick 50 goals in the WGFNC.
Dalyston once again fought hard, with regular performers such as Curtis Murfett, Michael Harris and Mitch Hallahan enjoying the challenge of taking on the reigning champs.
There’s just a depth issue with the Magpies…which is totally understandable considering how far back they’re come from.
Things don’t get easier for the Pies, who head to Nar Nar Goon this week, while the Seagulls host Bunyip.
It’s not the ideal scenario for the Gulls, who will need to keep their standards high for the blockbuster round-11 clash with Inverloch.
Kooweerup will be breathing a deep sigh of relief after the Demons struggled to shake off a brave challenge from Korumburra-Bena.
The Demons finally prevailed, 11.16.82 to 5.7.37, with a dominant 5.7 to 1.0 final term adding the bells and whistles to an otherwise gritty performance.
The Demons welcomed back one of its guns in Tim Miller, while fellow stars Nathan Voss, Nathan Muratore, Matt Voss and Bailey Galante were prime movers in the victory.
Adam Amin and Jason Wells kicked three each for Rhys Nisbet’s men, who will now look to build after breaking a seven-game losing streak.
Upcoming games against local rivals Garfield and Bunyip provide the perfect opportunity to turn what was a 1-7 record into 4-7 at the bye.
The Giants were competitive against the Dees, with coach Paul Fermanis among five individual goal-kickers.
Spirits appear to be high, despite an eight-game losing streak, but that valuable commodity will be tested over the next fortnight in games against Phillip Island and Nar Nar Goon.
The big carrot for the Giants is their two games after the bye, with assignments against Garfield and Bunyip akin to a mini- final-series.
Matt Kennewell continues to shine for the Giants, while Codie Anderson and Rhys Dixon were also rock-solid for three quarters.
Nar Nar Goon full-forward Dermott Yawney now has 100 goals in just 23 games for the club after booting seven for the Goon in its 48-point victory over Kilcunda Bass on Saturday.
Yawney and trusty left-footer Troy McDermott proved too hot for the Panthers to handle, smashing an even-dozen through the big sticks on the way to a 17.14.116 to 10.8.68 success at Spencer Street.
The Goon welcomed back some star power on the weekend, with Trent Armour, Trent Burgoyne, Nate Pipicelli and Flynn Parker all returning after last week’s win over Bunyip, and they wasted no time in slotting straight into the thick of the action.
The Goon was superb before half time, kicking 10.5 to 1.4 in one of its most complete performances of the season.
The Panthers kicked nine goals to seven after the break, but that failed to conceal the huge gap between the clubs when the contest was on the line.
The Goon has now won three on the bounce, and has winnable games against Dalyston and Korumburra Bena heading into the bye.
Eamon Trigg was stellar in the ruck for the Goon, while Jed Smith, Brent Hughes and James Cairns – who kept Taylor Gibson to three goals – were other valuable contributors.
The Panthers were disappointing on Saturday, but Nathan Foote, Kye Benson and Dale Gawley will take some good form into a winnable home-game against Warragul Industrials this week.
Last year’s preliminary finalist – Warragul Industrials – has survived a massive scare with the Dusties running out 33-point winners against Garfield at Western Park.
The Dusties wasted opportunities in the first term, kicking 3.7 to 1.2, and were then rocked as the enthusiastic Stars kicked four goals to one in the second period to take a one-point lead to half time.
The Dusties led narrowly after an even third stanza, before turning on the turbos with a 4.8 to 0.2 final quarter.
Minus star-veterans…Shane Brewster and Luke Walker…the Dusties lacked their usual composure, with Bailey Beck, Will Gibson and Todd Beck finally gaining control before it was too late.
Mason McGarrity booted five, his third handful for the season, while Trav Ogden and Kyle Staples contributed two each.
Debutant Thomas Cornwall also kicked a goal on the day of his 16th birthday.
The Stars fell away late, but Paul Carbis will take some confidence away from this one as heads to Kooweerup this week.
Cooper Reilly continues to impress in the ruck, while Jett Pickering, Jack Barnes and the consistent Zac Soutar almost pulled off the upset.
They’ll be underdogs again this week…but will really fancy their chances!
Inverloch-Kongwak created an incredible 18 scoring shots in the last quarter on its way to a 22.20.152 to 2.2.14 victory over Bunyip at Inverloch.
The Bulldogs would have been hopeful of keeping the margin to double-digits at three-quarter time, trailing by 75 points…but a 9.9 to no score final term led to a 138-point thumping.
The Sea Eagles spread the load wonderfully well up forward, with star-recruit Nick Baltas booting five goals and Taite Cumming chiming in with four, while Oscar Toussaint and Tom Wyatt put three each through the big sticks.
Wyatt’s second goal saw him become one of just 13 players to kick 100 goals or more since the inception of the WGFNC in 2017.
He kicked 30 in 2017, and 35 a year later; numbers that show he could be one to sneak under the radar when the real stuff begins in August.
Tate Short was once again superb across half back for the Eagles, with his reading of the play and magnificent ball use setting him apart from his contemporaries.
Ethan Park backed up his solid game from last week, with another pearler, while Callan O’Flynn had a day out in just his second game for the season.
Lachlan Petch would have been content with the Bulldogs performance until the final change, when the floodgates finally burst.
Alex Dijkstra, Matt O’Halloran and Curtis Jenkin joined Petch on the best players’ list.