By DAVID NAGEL
NEW Cranbourne coach Simon Goosey is not hitting the panic-button despite his side’s 70-point loss to South East Football League powerhouse Narre Warren at Casey Fields on Saturday.
Goosey was disappointed with his side’s effort but realistic enough to acknowledge a new game plan will take time to bed in.
“We were really disappointed, but I’d be silly to think that it’s all going to happen overnight,” he said.
“We’ll get better and better, but we’ve got some work to do, there’s no doubt about that.”
After a tight opening, the Magpies piled on five goals in just nine minutes at the end of the first quarter to basically end the game as a contest. Ben Wragg, with five goals, and Matt Lee with three were pivotal up forward for the Maggies while Ben Giobbi, Jackson Parker and Matt Soroczynski provided some real pace out of defence.
Young ruckman Dylan Barfoot was competitive in the ruck for the Eagles while Luke Bee-Hugo and Max Gearon did their best to quell the Magpies midfield dominance. Gun-defender Brandon Osborne had a great duel with Kerem Baskaya, keeping the dangerous full-forward to two goals for the afternoon.
The question mark hanging over Beaconsfield and its ability to back up after last year’s first premiership win in 10 years was answered at Holm Park Reserve on Saturday.
The Eagles answered emphatically too, with a gutsy, resilient, and typically team-orientated 11-point victory over arch-rival Berwick in the Battle of the Creek.
With no more than eight points separated the two sides at the first three breaks, the Eagles held on courtesy of four goals to Taylor Joyce and brilliant midfield displays from Jesse Linkins, Daniel Mislicki and Damien Johnston.
Doveton survived the first real heart-stopper in the SEFL with a one-point victory over Tooradin at Robinson Oval.
The Doves trailed by 25 points at the main break but fought back, with five goals to Ricky Hayes and a brilliant marking display from Jarrad Boumann across half-back the key planks of victory.
“Over the last couple of years, we would have lost that game, but I think we all lifted and showed some real character and that’s got to be good for our confidence and belief going forward,” Doves coach Shannon Henwood said.
Pakenham pushed aside an unimpressive pre-season to score an impressive 86-point victory over Hampton Park at Toomuc Reserve.
“I don’t understand it, I think we’ve got the best team on the park since I’ve been here (three years) but we sort of feel like people have written us off already and we don’t know why,” Lions’ coach Steve O’Bryan said.
Jake Smith finished with five for the Lions while skipper Dean Blake was back to his brilliant best through the midfield.
The highlight of this week’s round of matches will be the appearance of former St Kilda star Stephen Milne, who will line-up for Hampton Park against Beaconsfield at Robert Booth Reserve.
