Sport
1 June, 2023
Another thriller for Roos
DIMBOOLA has fallen short of a come-from-behind win when they were defeated by Horsham Saints in round seven of Wimmera Football League on Saturday. The Roos chased down a three goal deficit at three quarter time but fell short by four points as the...
DIMBOOLA has fallen short of a come-from-behind win when they were defeated by Horsham Saints in round seven of Wimmera Football League on Saturday.
The Roos chased down a three goal deficit at three quarter time but fell short by four points as the Saints staved off the comeback in the dying minutes of the clash.
The game at the Recreation Reserve highlighted round seven which also saw Stawell jump into the top five for the first this season when they defeated Warrack Eagles by 26 points at Anzac Park.
Reigning premier Minyip-Murtoa is out of the top five for the first time this season after being humbled by ladder leader Ararat by 83 points, while Southern Mallee Giants broke a two-game losing streak when they accounted for Nhill by 12 points in a hard-fought contest at Davis Park.
Horsham Saints jumped out of the blocks with the aid of a breeze on Saturday in the opening term through key forward Jarrod Garth who kicked two goals in the opening six minutes before being joined on the scoreboard by Connor O’Beirne as the Saints had three on the board within 11 minutes.
The opening onslaught caught the Roos off guard as the Saints continued to push forward and when Mitch Martin added to the goalkicking list, the Saints had kicked their fourth major inside 15 minutes and led by 23 points.
For the final 15 minutes of the opening stanza, the Roos were forced to defend to the quarter time siren and were able to put a stop to scoring and trailed by 23 points at quarter time which could have been larger had a shot after the siren just fell short of the mark by the Saints.
The wind advantage made no difference to the Saints who again opened the second term in strong style as Gage Wright and Will Brennan failed to convert scoring chances in the opening minutes as the Roos started to the work its way into the contest.
An opening goal to Hayden Walters, in his first game for the green and gold for the season, provided a spark for the home team who went on a four-goal unanswered sequence as Darcy Dubois goaled from close range after a Jono Ross intercept.
Goals to Tom O’Dwyer and Ross from a tight angle saw the Roos take the lead for the first time of the match before Garth kicked his third major of the day to give the Saints back a narrow lead.
But the Roos were up and about and when coach Jack Landt goaled from long range, the Roos were back in front late in the second term and took a lead of two points into the half time break.
And that margin grew in the opening minutes of third term when Sam Godden goaled to extend the lead to eight points in a promising start to the term.
But again, the match took another twist, as the Saints went on their own scoring spree to kick the next three goals through Garth and Mitch Martin.
The Saints pair, who combined for 10 goals for the day, sparked their team with Garth marking strongly and goaling from a tight angle before making it two goals in two minutes with another snap to give his team a four-point lead.
The lead was then extended to 10 points when Martin kicked his second for the day and looking dangerous to further extend its advantage.
However, the Roos were able to momentarily break the flow when Ross goaled from long range and again cut the margin to four points before Martin took charge of the rest of the third term.
The elusive forward added two goals in as many minutes with the first a clever piece of play in the goalsquare before a miracle snap from the boundary gave his team a 16-point lead. Another set shot a minute late just missed the mark as the Saints enjoyed a 17-point lead at three quarter time.
The late surge from the Saints set up a big final term to the clash and it was the Roos who opened scoring when Godden kicked his second in the first two minutes before Jacob O’Beirne won a free kick to take the lead back to 17 points.
The goal-for-goal flow of the match continued when Walters kicked his second for the day before Martin kicked his fifth for the day with another clever piece of evasion taking the lead back to 17 points.
Landt then provided a vital spark when he goaled on the run from long range and cut the deficit back to 11 points as Godden missed a set shot before goaling from close range minutes later for his third for the day to cut the margin to four points deep into time on.
The frantic final minutes justified the ebbs and flows of the match as both teams pushed hard to find the winning goal but through some hard working defence, the margin remained at four points when the final siren sounded to give the Saints its fifth win of the season and join the Roos on equal points in third place on the ladder.
The match had most things covered as the Roos went into the contest without the services of Tom Cree, Michael Graham, Billy Hayes and Dylan Landt but welcomed Walters and Mark Polycarpou for their first games with both showing a presence throughout the day.
Martin’s five goals were a highlight of the match, while Garth’s five complemented the day’s scoring as they finished off the work of Sam Clyne, Pat Knott and Jacob O’Beirne who enjoyed a huge battle through the midfield with Aisea Raikiwasa, Darcy Dubois and Matt Rosier.