Mapgies swoop on Keysborough

By Brad Kingsbury
KEYSBOROUGH suffered its second consecutive defeat to a top-three side on Saturday when Narre Warren scored a comprehensive 65-point victory over the visiting Burra in awkward breezy conditions at Fox Road.
The Casey Cardinia league round 11 game went as most pundits expected with the Magpies taking revenge on the Burra for the previous weekend’s loss to rampant flag favourite Pakenham, but whether it was a true indication of where Keysborough sits in the scheme of things or not will be evident over the coming weeks.
The Burra must regroup or it will be back with the ever-increasing pack battling it out for a spot in the final five.
Both coaches spent time assessing their opposition, and the inclusion of teenage ruck prospect Aaron Mills assisted the Magpies’ midfield strength, while Michael McGill was assigned the task of shutting down young Burra star Matthew Freeman.
After an even first term the home side selected another gear and pulled away from their opponents, booting seven goals to two in the second term and taking a match-winning 37-point lead into half-time.
Despite losing Danny Brewster to a hamstring injury just before the main break, Narre Warren was slicker across the ground and rebounded superbly via Jack McTaggart, Jarrod Anderson and Lee Boyle to retain control of the game in the second half and run out a convincing winner.
There was a bit of flag-flying by both sides after Boyle was cleaned up late in the third quarter, but other than that the game petered out towards the end, and Magpie coach Matt Shinners said afterwards that he was happy with the methodical victory.
Keysborough coach Greg Siwes lamented the loss, particularly given that William Gayfer and Corey Wilkinson did excellent jobs on key Magpie forwards Brett Evans and Lee Clark, while Clinton King and Shaun Daly also dominated their positions.
“We just relaxed a bit after quarter-time, I think, and that’s what happens when you do that against good sides. And Narre is a good side, make no mistake” Siwes said.
“We shut down Collins, Clark, Scalzo and Scanlon, we had the match-ups right in the backline and we won the centre clearances – then we walk away losing by 10 goals. That’s disturbing.
“We have to work on concentrating for four quarters, not just one, and then go from there.”
Keysborough will likely welcome back star forward Tyson King from injury in the next week or two but faces another daunting challenge against ladder leader Pakenham this weekend.
In other round 11 results, Pakenham belted Doveton by 66 points, ROC upset Cranbourne by two points, Berwick went down to Devon Meadows by 46 points and Hampton Park downed Beaconsfield by a goal.