Football
14 April, 2026
Demons claim triller over Minyip Murtoa
In the closest game of the round, last season's bottom-placed side, Horsham edged out Minyip Murtoa in an absolute thriller on Saturday.
The final scores were the Horsham side 12.14 (86) to the Burras 12.12 (84), with the Demons recording a big last quarter to steal the win.
The Burras held a 17-point lead at the end of the first quarter, but the Horsham side were in control by eight points at the big break.
Following a big quarter after half time, the Burras went into the final term up by a couple of goals, but it was the Horsham side who finished more strongly, booting 2.6 to Minyip Murtoa's four points.
The Demons welcomed back a familiar name in Ben Hobbs, a former AFL player and current VFL player, who has nominated the Horsham side as his home team for when he is available from the higher league, and he was one of the best players for the side on Saturday.
Tyler Blake was also great for the winners, while the club had no shortage of goal scorers, with eight individual players finding the big sticks, including Cody Maybery, Gibson Perry, Jasper Gunn and Lachlan Hobbs, all of whom contributed a couple of goals each.
Oscar Gawith, for Minyip Murtoa, was best on ground for his side and a focal point in the forward line, booting four majors, while Dustin Okely also played well.
Coach of the Demons, Jake Short, said he was proud of the efforts of his side on Saturday and getting the points was a great reward.
"A couple of huge defensive efforts late probably got us over the line," admitted Short.
"They had their chances, but we managed to hold them at bay with a massive smother on the goal line, a big spoil and a couple of defensive marks."
Short was impressed by the maturity and resilience his group showed in getting back into the game after losing Charlie Dinning in the first 10 seconds of the match and conceding the first three goals in about five minutes.
"It was a tough breeze to one end all day, so to stay composed and peg three goals into the wind in that first quarter was a great effort," he said.
"We had a great spread of contributors across the board, older, more experienced guys like Taz Blake and Billy Carberry and then some young guys like Cody Mayberry and Lachie Hobbs impacted on the score."
Short said the side will take confidence from the game, especially because the opposition had some bigger players running around, but the Horsham side was able to take it to them in the contest.
But he admitted the side does have areas to improve on, and they are all controllable, like decision-making with the footy and errors in skill.
"Round one will bring those," said Short.
"But to win off the back of defensive efforts and not an all-out attack will prove to the group that we are a multi-faceted team with different ways to win.
"Some guys played some terrific football in the reserves, so competition for spots is there, the sign of a healthy list, so we'll go to work this week and improve again."
While acknowledging it was an entire team effort and that everyone had a moment when they stood up, the coach of the Demons wanted to acknowledge Hudson Hair's efforts.
"He had a really tough matchup with Oscar Gawith," Short revealed.
"Oscar kicked four, but I thought Hudson was with him all day and took a really strong mark late in the game."
And finally, Short acknowledged the contribution of former AFL player Ben Hobbs, whose addition to the side, he said, was always going to be huge.
"Not only when he had the football but also for me personally and the boys to set up ahead and around the football," said Short.
"His understanding of the game and buy-in to the group were huge reasons why we won."