Former Dandenong Stingray and Noble Park recruit Ziggie Alwan was best on ground for the Bulls on Saturday.
By Glen Atwell
NOBLE Park’s faultless start to the Eastern Football League (EFL) first division season continued with 22-point win against Norwood at Pat Wright Oval on Saturday.
But the Bulls could not shake their persistent opponents until midway through the last quarter.
Noble Park escaped with a win, but the victory failed to reach the lofty standards set by the top-of-the-ladder Bulls as the ninth-placed Norwood pushed last year’s runner-up to breaking point.
The Bulls’ nine-point buffer at quarter-time probably should have been more after Noble Park booted 5.4 to Norwood’s 4.1.
The Bulls outscored Norwood again in the second term, but inaccurate goal-kicking again prevented Noble Park from creating a match-winning lead.
It wasn’t so much bad kicking as bad ground positioning that cost the Bulls a healthy half-time lead.
Noble Park was forced wide by the Norwood defence, and to the “dead side of the ground”, according to Bulls coach Shane Burgmann.
“We were bringing the ball to the far pocket (Arena Square side of the ground),” he said.
“We really needed to straighten up and hit the attacking side of the ground (grandstand side).”
Ziggie Alwan and Daniel Rigg provided the Bulls with run and movement through the midfield, but the forwards could not find the big sticks from the extremities of Pat Wright Oval.
Norwood emerged the better side in the third term, kicking four goals to Noble Park’s two and closing the deficit to eight points at three-quarter time.
At the huddle, Burgmann made sure he was heard loud and clear.
“There are times when you have to get your point across to the group and this was one of those times,” he said.
Whatever Burgmann said worked, because the Bulls dominated the final quarter, and, despite kicking more points than goals, shut Norwood out of the game.
“It was a really tough game. Norwood kept coming and coming,” he said.
This Saturday Noble Park travels to play East Ringwood, which will be looking to bounce back after losing to Balwyn on the weekend.
