Bulls trample Magpies

By Paul Pickering
NOBLE Park may have accounted for Scoresby with relative ease on Saturday, but the impressive 51-point victory looks to have come at a cost.
The Bulls suffered a succession of injuries in Saturday’s away win and are likely to be without four of their key players for this weekend’s clash with East Ringwood.
Prolific goal-sneak Dave Velardo (calf), ruckman Matt Skehan (hamstring) and on-baller Steve Fouracre (corked thigh) all succumbed to soft tissue injuries, while playing-coach Kris Barlow pulled up sore and is unlikely to play against the Roos.
The injury toll aside, Noble couldn’t help but be delighted by the four-quarter performance against the Magpies.
The Bulls charged to a 34-point lead at halftime, and, despite playing much of the second half with just 18 fit players, stuck to their task to extend the margin at every siren.
Once again, the tone was set down back, where Adrian Little, Tim Davison, Daniel Rigg and Lloyd Williams held strong against a dangerous Magpie forward set-up led by Cody Morris (two goals) and Steve Pimm (one).
The game was broken open by the likes of Peter O’Brien, Craig Anderson and Fouracre in the middle, while Velardo (three) and the in-form Heath Black found welcome support from Daniel Galante (four) up forward. Galante has split his time between the reserves and seniors this season, but may have found his niche as a hard-working small forward.
Another to impress was 17-year-old Ty Mitchem, who got the call-up after two best-on-ground performances in the twos.
Mitchem provided a spark between wing and half-forward, and his impressive debut was not lost on the coach.
“Ty really acquitted himself well,” Barlow said. “He showed he’s going to be a good player for us for many years to come.”
Despite his early troubles, Barlow was buoyed by the result. “I was really happy with the way we played,” he said. “I thought they (Scoresby) were pretty sharp early, but our defence was good and our midfield slowly worked into the game and started to dominate.”
The Bulls now seemingly have a top five berth within their grasp. They are sitting in third spot on the ladder, two games – and significant percentage – clear of Scoresby in sixth, so Barlow is planning to err on the side of caution with injured players over the next couple of weeks.
On Saturday night, Noble will be looking to avenge its round three loss to East Ringwood.
The game starts 7pm at the Bullring.