Falcons fall to charging Bulls

By Paul Pickering
FIRST-year coach Alan Ezard added another piece to the Noble Park puzzle on Saturday night, welcoming key defender Duane Stott to the fold as the Bulls stormed to a 75-point victory over Lilydale.
Noble jumped to a 27-point lead at quarter time and extended the margin at every break to continue its dream start to the season.
Stott’s clearance from Pascoe Vale was approved on Friday night and while his EFL debut was impressive enough its significance to the Ezard game plan was even greater.
The burly recruit, who followed Ezard from the Essendon District club over the summer, combined with Adrian Little and Tim Davison to stifle a Falcons forward line fronted by the dangerous Kenny brothers.
Their defensive efforts allowed Ziggie Alwan to produce a best-on-ground performance across half-back, with Stewart Kemperman proving nearly as damaging on the rebound.
Ezard was thrilled with his new-look defence.
“I was always worried about their forward line, but I think we’ve got the balance right down back now,” he said, recognising Stott’s first-up contribution.
“If we can keep those players together down back, I think they’re going to form a really good side within a side.”
The Bulls had winners all over the ground, with Craig Anderson and George Angelopoulos providing plenty of footy through the midfield and Dave Velardo (five goals) leading the way up forward.
The Falcons were wasteful in front of goal, kicking 8.19 for the night and a wayward 1.8 in the second term.
Ezard said the score flattered his charges, but he was delighted to overcome a Lilydale outfit that had troubled Noble in the past two seasons.
“They missed a lot of goals that they should have kicked, but the pleasing thing was that we won every quarter and that’s the first time this year we’ve done that,” he said.
Next up for the Bulls is a newly promoted Wantirna South that is yet to register a victory this season.
It’s a game that Noble shouldn’t lose, but Ezard is well aware that the Bulls have been prone to stumble against seemingly outmatched opponents in recent years.
“We just have to make sure we don’t take them too lightly,” he said.
“Last year the club was up and running, relaxed a bit and dropped off, but this year I think we’re going to be more consistent.”