By Marcus Uhe
Fifteen wicked minutes of football in two separate stretches from the mighty Magpies proved decisive in the much anticipated top-of-the-table clash between Narre Warren and Wandin at Kalora Park on Saturday.
With top spot in the ladder in Premier Division up for grabs, both sides pushed and pulled in an arm-wrestle for 90 per cent of the match up before the Magpies kicked away late to finish 39-point winners in windy conditions home, 13.18 96 to 9.3 57.
The two critical periods of play came in the second and last term with the Magpies kicking down breeze towards the main entrance at Fox Road.
The first saw the Magpies kick three goals in a brutal four minutes when the Bulldogs were forced to turn to champion forward Clint Johnson to take relief rucking duties.
In the absence of first-choice ruck Drew Benson, the undersized key forward struggled while giving Jordan Spencer a rest in the middle.
Brad Scalzo goaled immediately from the centre bounce when Johnson first entered the middle, before Jake Richardson and Daniel Toner nailed two more in the four-minute frenzy, an 18-point swing that took the reigning champions from down 11 to up seven.
To that point, it had been the travelling Bulldogs in-control of the contest, thanks to goals from Johnson and fellow star forward Jordan Jaworski and holding the home side goalless in the opening term.
Brodie Atkins broke the momentum for the Bulldogs after finding himself in space ahead of the ball, and a miss on the run from Johnson would have given the Bulldogs the lead late in the half.
But a major to Harrison Brain, and another from Daniel Toner after the half time siren for the home side, ensured the Magpies held a slim advantage at the long break.
With conditions on their side in the third, the Bulldogs needed to strike before a likely onslaught in the final term.
Narre Warren belied the environment to dominate territory and field position, but failed to capitalise on the inside 50 numbers as Wandin showcased its efficiency.
Where Magpies stars Will Howe and Kurt Mutimer missed chances well-within their capabilities of scoring, the duo of Johnson and Jaworski made every opportunity count, kicking 4.0 in the third term to the home side’s 1.5.
With the forward 50 largely left open for them to work their magic, Jaworksi and Johnson chipped-away at the lead with two goals each, and eventually snatched the higher ground in the 21st minute through Jaworski’s third, stepping through a tackle and snapping over his shoulder with his team on the change.
A steadying captain’s goal from Richardson was just the tonic his side needed to stop the flow of momentum for the visitors, and give his side a slim margin at three-quarter-time, as arguably the showpiece fixture of the Outer East’s season was living up to all expectations.
A snap falling backwards in the quagmired forward pocket in front of the netball courts from Damien Furey returned the Bulldogs to pole position, but it was quickly answered by Hamish West’s second, the clever mid-sized forward the beneficiary of long kicks out the backline carrying further with the wind.
Now with the lead to protect, the Magpies’ press came higher and higher, squeezing the ground and not allowing for the Bulldogs’ midfield to slice and dice their way through the field with their exquisite foot skills.
Uncharacteristic turnovers at halfback from Wandin provided Narre Warren with their opening two goals on the final term, as Trent Papworth, Joel Zietsman and co took critical intercept marks and thwarted attacks on a number of occasions.
A scoreless 10 minutes with the ball bouncing from end to end raised the stakes even further.
With 20 minutes played in the final term, Wandin were still within three kicks of snatching a memorable win on the road minus a number of its stars, including Connor Smith, Aaron Mullett, Patrick Hodgett and the previously mentioned Benson.
Wandin’s undersized defensive group had been so strong all day, and fought to the bitter end with a number of critical smothers and pressure acts in the back half of the ground in the dying stages of the contest to keep their side’s chances alive.
But try as they might, another flurry of action from the Magpies blew the margin beyond anything they could chase down.
Goals to West, Howe, Jesse Davies and Thomas Russell in the final 10 minutes of play saw the Magpies pull away, and claim a crucial four-point break on the Bulldogs at the top of the Premier Division table.
Wandin coach Nick Adam rued the inability to capitalise on the conditions in the first quarter, believing it cost them later in the game.
“I think it was probably a three or four goal breeze and we went in two goals to nil,” he said.
“If that had become four or five goals to one, and then that translates to a four or five goal lead at three-quarter-time, does that change the complexion of the game? Maybe, but they (Narre Warren) deserved to win.
“I felt like we managed (kicking) into the breeze better than what we did, but they clearly got it right when going with it.
“Maybe it’s an exposure thing, they know that if it’s windy, it’s windy there, but we get protected a bit from the wind at Wandin.”
He also expects the exposure to the bigger playing surface at Kalora Park to hold them in better stead for the remainder of the year, having attributed a lag in adjusting to similar sized grounds in finals last year as contributing to his side’s downfall.
“I think there’s some execution stuff that we pretty consistently battle on some of those bigger grounds that we’re going to have to overcome as we come into finals, because it’s unlikely that finals are going to get played at Olinda or Wandin.
“I think there’s a bit of an adjustment in structure and the boys getting an understanding of gap control on the bigger grounds. They get used to feeling what the gap looks like, but the actual ground position becomes important in your ability to impact when you’re not used, that you don’t end up so far away that you can’t get back to support, and with the ball in hand, (because) when we get too skinny, we’ve been opened-up a little bit when teams go out and around us.”
With a clear gap on the remainder of the pack in Premier Division, Adam and Narre Warren coach Shane Dwyer shared a moment of mutual admiration upon the final siren, reflecting the sentiment of everyone tracking this competition.
“I said to Shane after the game, ‘it’s one all, and we’re looking forward to the next one.’”
The Magpies’ midfielders were outstanding, led by Mutimer, Scalzo, Tom Miller and Corey Bader, finding the all-important synergy that has won their side plenty of games of football over the years.
Richardson and West finished with three each for the home side, as did Johnson and Jaworski for the visitors.
