Sport
Burras' big guns silenced
Paddy Higgs
02Jul08
YOU had to pity Keysborough.
Facing Narre Warren at any time is hard enough, but coming up against it after a loss is worse.
That was the case for the Burras on Saturday, and while Narre Warren's 65-point win raised few eyebrows, Greg Siwes' Burras were competitive.
Siwes' decision to tag Magpie playmakers Ricky Clark, Michael Collins, Brad Scalzo and Nick Scanlon negated their effect somewhat, but Keysborough's inability to create scoreboard pressure brought it undone.
The Burras forwards had it tough, with Narre Warren's own defensive match-ups right on the money.
Luke McGuiness was well held by Danny Brewster and (following a suspected hamstring injury) Lee Boyle, while Michael McGill kept Matt Freeman goalless.
Magpie coach Matt Shinners said his defence was the difference, with Jarrod Anderson another to impress with his drive from a back pocket.
"They did have some really good players, but when they went forward they couldn't capitalise and we were able to rebound," he said.
Opposite number Siwes believed the final margin did not reflect his team's efforts.
"I thought we played really good ... we won the centre clearances, and we still walk away getting beaten by 10 goals," he said.
Keysborough has no new injury concerns, but after booting just 16 goals in its last two matches, Siwes has vowed to "attack, attack, attack" against Pakenham this Saturday.
Narre Warren will be without Brewster, with another Under 18 player set to be given a chance this Saturday against winless Tooradin.
A haul of 10 goals to veteran full-forward George Gorozidis was not enough for Berwick as it fell to Devon Meadows in a shoot-out. In a free-flowing game, the Panthers had more options up forward, powering home with a nine-goal final term to win by 46 points.
Key forwards Matt Davey, Scott Morrison, Aaron Henneman and Ash Adams shared 20 goals between them, benefiting from the drive of Guy Chisnall and Jesse Dehey.
Andrew Tuck was again one of Berwick's better performers, while Michael Hanigan's first game since Round 1 was impressive.
The Wicks booted eight goals in the first term, but Ronnie Burns' side has found it tough to play four quarters this year, and so it proved again.
Berwick plays local rival Beaconsfield on Saturday, while Devon Meadows faces a final-five eight-pointer against Cranbourne.
Beaconsfield missed a chance to put daylight between it and the other fifth place aspirants, falling by six points to Hampton Park in a gritty encounter.
The Eagles fell behind after a slow first quarter, but showed plenty of character to claw their way back into a winning position.
Robbie Taylor's side had a chance to steal the game with just five minutes remaining when a shot at goal appeared destined to put the Eagles in front, only for Redback ruckman Shane Moffat to touch the ball on the line.
"It was a disappointing loss, because it was a pretty important game," Taylor said.
"I thought we had a lot of opportunities to kick goals, but our skill errors really hurt us."
Ruckman Matthew Kenny was superb for the Eagles, while Andrew Williams was dangerous across half forward, finishing with four majors despite the attention of Matthew Dixon.
