A seven goal to one third quarter set up a 75-point win for Newtown & Chilwell against a persistent Grovedale on Saturday, something that pleased coach Steve Johnson.
The Eagles led by 10 points at the main break and were able to put the result to rest with a strong third term to run out 17.13(115) to 5.10(40) winners.
“We didn’t make the most of our opportunities with the wind in the first quarter and it was a pretty strong breeze,” Johnson said.
“So to come in at half-time without a big lead was okay, we just needed to make sure we capitalised in the third quarter, which we were able to do.”
Grovedale had no answers for Connor Fopiani, who booted eight goals after a bag of four the previous week against reigning premier Leopold.
The son of the late and great Frank Fopiani, Johnson said the young gun was impressive.
“He was just unbelievable in the one v one contest,” he said.
“He’s so strong and he’s a real competitor. He took some really strong contested marks and went back and he’s got a lot of confidence in his goal kicking at the moment.
“Kicking four the week before and then eight on the weekend is an outstanding result for him because he’s worked so hard on his game and he’s such a popular player around the club.”
One of the highlights of the game was an absorbing battle in the ruck between Cameron Wilkinson and his Grovedale counterpart Ryan Abbott.
“I think Abbott was named in their best and obviously we were really wary of his ability to own the space around the stoppage and grab the ball out of the ruck, which he did against St Mary’s a lot the previous week,” Jonson said.
“So we went in with a plan to try and compete with him in the ruck, but also just be aware of when he does grab it that we want to make sure that we’ve got someone tackling him and making him earn his possessions throughout the day.
“And I just thought Wilko competed really well and it was probably a halved contest in the end with both getting named in the best players.”
Newtown & Chilwell takes on an improved St Albans this weekend.
“I think just on the back of our last three games, we’ve been building,” Johnson said.
“So in the second half against Geelong West we certainly did some things better. Against Leopold, we put in a really strong performance and then again on the weekend I thought we competed really well for four quarters.
“It was only that polish, that sort of let us down. But our boys’ ability to compete is really strong at the moment. We just want to make sure that we become really consistent at that and if we have the right intent going into most games, we’re going to be competitive and not have any let downs along the way. So that’ll be the big focus.”
FRASER Fort booted six goals for South Barwon in a 59-point win against Geelong West while defender Connor Weidemann starred at the other end of the ground.
CAPTAIN Stephen Benstead was Bell Park’s best in a 141-point win against Lara. It took the Cats until late in the final term to register its only major, through Tom Gunther, who was also his side’s best.
ST MARY’S emerged triumphant with an 11-point win against Leopold. Gun midfielder Jack Blood was brilliant for the Saints.
TOM Higgins bagged eight goals and Jim Botsaris five for St Albans in a 168-point win against North Shore.
ST JOSEPH’S eventually shrugged off a persistent Colac to run out 43-point winners with Harrison Smith best.
