By Jonty Ralphsmith
It was a ripper day of footy for a neutral, but Cranbourne walked away empty handed from its Southern Division One clash on Saturday.
It was the Eagles’ second loss of the season, going down by three points to Port Melbourne on the Colts’ tiny home ground.
The size of the ground allowed teams to get a run on and cash in when they got momentum, heralding a high-scoring affair.
Cranbourne was the better team for the first half, reaching a game-high 28-point lead midway through the quarter before giving up three goals to a lack of discipline.
That closed the margin to just eight points at the main break which belied the ascendancy.
Port Melbourne was able to make a mile out of an inch, and run with it in the second half as Colts gun Chris DeLuca got a roll on and led the fightback.
The hosts also had former AFL x-factor Harley Bennell in the lineup who was a class above with ball in hand and accompanied his strong game with two majors.
Cranbourne still led by a goal at the final break but Port Melbourne was the better side overall in the second half.
While the final margin read three points, it wasn’t a frantic finish – Cranbourne kicked a goal on the siren to close the gap.
Brandon Osborne was named best on ground for his role on Chan Hargraves, keeping the forward, who has bags of six and seven to his name in 2023, to a solitary goal.
Jarryd Barker also started the game well, while the forwards were praised by coach Steve O’Brien for creating space on a post-box ground.
The Eagles had a focus on spreading the goal kicking load in preseason with Marc Holt, who kicked three on the day, uncertain to play in 2023.
So far, Holt has contributed 16 of the 72 goals Cranbourne has kicked when he has been in the side.
That equates to 22 per cent.
Last year, Holt kicked 26 per cent of Cranbourne’s goals, highlighting there has been a slight decrease…but he remains the barometer.
