Nail-biting defeat for Lions
Hay Lions took on Murrabit at home in an extremely close game. Action started with an arm wrestle with both teams struggling to get it through the opposition half back lines.
Hugh Crighton, who was getting plenty of ball early, kicked the first goal but Murrabit responded quickly. After a couple of behinds from Murrabit, Hay struck again when Brad Pocock who was strong across the half back line all day, created a turnover and got it onto Jensen Hargreaves who delivered the ball deep into the forward line where Simon Bunyan read it well, marked and kicked the goal to take Hay into quarter time up twelve to nine.
Second quarter saw a similar pattern, however Hay’s inaccuracy in front of goals hurt, as the Lions kicked six behinds in the quarter, while Murrabit had four scoring shots and kicked three goals. Hay backline was acquitting itself well, with James Eddy and Nathan Wilson both nullifying dangerous opponents, while Daniel Zambon was providing important run and leadership down back. In the midfield battle, Liam Whitbourne continued to gather touches around the park, and Dylan Lund was strong on the inside. Half time saw Hay down 28 to 18, in a low scoring defence dominated game.
Third quarter saw changes to the Hay team with Ferg Cattanach going to centre half forward, Jack Miller moving into a defensive forward roll, and both Daniel Stewart and Angus Gardiner going deep back. These changes swung the momentum in Hay’s favour as Ferg provided an additional target forward of the ball, Jack nullified his opponent, and both Daniel and Angus beat their men regularly and rebounded the ball well, along with Brad Pocock. Hay kicked four goals to three for the quarter as Dean Aylett hit the scoreboard, along with Ferg and Simon. Three quarter time saw Hay down by only the 4 points and right in the game. Unfortunately, Murrabit lifted their intensity in the clearance battle and were getting first use of the footy as they kicked the first goal of the quarter. Lions responded however and were winning contests around the ground with Tim Zambon and Pat Jubb running hard in the midfield and the backline dominant. After the Lions moved the ball from deep in the backline with nice foot skills, to Jack Miller who collected a loose ball and slotted the ball and then Tom Davies marked and goaled from 30m out, they were up by one point with five minutes to play. However, the arm wrestle continued and Murrabit scrambled a couple of points, one not recorded on the scoreboard. When the siren rang out, with the scoreboard showing a tie, confusion reigned, before it was confirmed that Murrabit had won by the solitary point. While the effort was there from the Lions, it was a disappointing outcome for the Hay boys who had plenty of opportunities in front of goal, although again the young team had shown great fight. Final Score Murrabit 8.10.58 defeated Hay Lions 8.9.57.
Goal kickers Simon Bunyan 3, Hugh Crighton, Dean Aylett, Ferg Cattanach, Tom Davies, Jack Miller. Better players: Ferg Cattanach, Brad Pocock, James Eddy, Nathan Wilson, Hugh Crighton, Pat Jubb.
