By Marc McGowan
THE Noble Park Bulls have shown they are ready for finals’ football with a 105-point walloping of lowly Ringwood in their Division One Eastern Football League tussle at Pat Wright Oval on Saturday.
It was the Bulls’ second-straight match-up with a bottom-two side and the result was much more convincing this week, but they still had to fight hard early to defend their unbeaten streak.
In a surprisingly tight first period, Noble Park held sway by just two points, as both teams put four goals on the scoreboard.
Bulls playing coach Shane Burgmann said Ringwood had started off pretty well and they had to smarten up a bit.
“We picked our game up and lifted our intensity and they just couldn’t go with us,” he said.
That was an understatement, as the Bulls rammed on nine second-quarter majors to the Redbacks’ two to snuff out Ringwood’s momentary challenge.
Little did the Redbacks know that the second quarter would become a template for the rest of the match. It only got worse for Ringwood in the second half, as Noble Park’s goal-binge continued, slotting six and seven goals respectively in the ensuing quarters.
With the finals within sight, Burgmann believes his players are stepping up a notch and a healthy rivalry is developing for the final spots in the team.
Star full-forward and former Melbourne Demon and Adelaide Crow Brent Williams kicked six goals to lead the Bulls’ charge in his return, after being dropped for missing training the week before.
It was a quick recall for Williams, after the burly forward kicked an amazing 25 goals in the seconds.
Burgmann, also a former Demon, confirmed that Williams did attend training in the lead-up, despite Williams’ contrary claims on The Footy Show last Thursday night.
“Yes, he was there,” he said.
“He was on The Footy Show last week and we were happy for him to lap up the limelight.”
The result belied the teams’ earlier clash in the season, where the Bulls snuck over the line by 17 points.
Burgmann had an explanation for the unexpected tight scoreline.
“We got lost on their ground – it’s as big as the MCG. It was the first time we played there and we were just going too wide on the day,” he said.
