Bulls blow it – for now

By Paul Pickering
NOBLE Park was blown away by Vermont forward Ash Froud and the strength of a stiff breeze at Bayswater Oval on Saturday.
The Bulls took a 38-point lead into three-quarter-time of the Division One qualifying final, but the reigning premiers stormed home with the wind to win by eight points.
Froud booted five of Vermont’s seven last-quarter goals to complete a virtuoso eight-goal performance for the afternoon, while the shell-shocked Bulls could manage just one behind in a diabolical finish.
After the match, injured playing-coach Kris Barlow – who had implored the Bulls to “be bold” in the last quarter – conceded that his charges lost their nerve when they were challenged.
“I think we needed to score and be more proactive in the last quarter,” Barlow said.
“For three quarters we executed our game plan, so to fall away like that in the last quarter was really disappointing, but I was disappointed for them as much as in them.”
The Bulls went into Saturday’s game without Barlow and gun midfielder Peter O’Brien – as well as full-forward Dave Velardo – after both sustained injuries at training on Thursday night.
Still, the Eagles were missing a handful of top-line on-ballers – including classy skipper Ryan Mullett – and they looked vulnerable from the outset.
Noble had first use of the breeze and dominated the stoppages, but the nerves of the occasion showed in a return of 6.7.
Vermont spearhead Matt Greig (three goals) booted his side’s only goal in the opener, but he was brilliantly held by young Bull Tim Davison for the rest of the day.
It took a late flurry of majors – from Heath Black, Matt Skehan and Dean Kelly – to establish a 33-point lead at the break.
Froud gave a hint of things to come when he snared two goals inside five minutes of the second quarter.
But Noble frustrated the Eagles with some patient ball usage and maintained a three-goal buffer at the main break.
Craig Anderson and Daniel Norman were the architects for Noble in the first half, but it was the relentless run of Ramy Melhem that sparked the Bulls in the third.
After a lacklustre resumption from both sides, Melhem brought the Bulls to life by snatching the footy from an Eagle defender and cruising in to goal midway through the term.
And when Noble’s best passage of play for the afternoon ended in Dean Kelly’s fourth goal – and a six-goal lead – it seemed the Bulls had done enough.
Froud had other ideas.
The dynamic small forward shook Noble defender Shayne Allan on the lead and bombed a goal from 45m out inside the first minute.
Barlow could only dip his cap to Froud and the Eagles.
“They’re a good side and when they get a run on they’re hard to stop,” he said.
“We got smashed in the stoppages in the last quarter and they moved the ball quickly, so I don’t think anyone could have stopped him (Froud).”
The Bulls will now play Blackburn in a sudden-death semi-final at Box Hill City Oval on Sunday.
The Burners eliminated East Ringwood in a thriller on the weekend.
“It’s definitely a danger game, but we haven’t lost faith in our setup and the way we play footy, so we’ll be looking to bounce back,” he said.