High drama at the Bullring

By Paul Pickering
THE stakes were high at the Bullring on Saturday – and it showed.
Tempers flared, blows were exchanged and yellow cards handed out like flyers as Noble Park escaped with a crucial 25-point victory over Knox.
The Bulls and Falcons – sitting fifth and sixth respectively – knew a win was imperative to keep pace with the top four, but neither had the polish to put the other side away.
Knox booted 2.8 in the first term and trailed by two points at the break, only for Noble to return the favour with a 3.9 return in an otherwise dominant second quarter.
The Bulls still led by 22 points at half-time and looked poised to run away with the game, but some undisciplined play provided Knox with the motivation for a comeback.
Serial antagonists Trent Robertson and George Angelopoulos weren’t the only players to lose their heads in a fiery second half, but their indiscretions gifted Knox with two important goals.
The Falcons drew within seven points when skipper Paul Tredrea goaled midway through the final term, and it took a heroic performance from Noble’s Stewart Kemperman to stem the tide.
Kemperman started the final term on the bench after copping a heavy knock in the third, but he put his hand up to go forward as the brutal contest took its toll on the Bulls.
It turned out to be the match-winning move; much to the relief of Noble coach Alan Ezard.
“Stewy was pretty dazed at three-quarter-time and we were probably forced to play him forward in the end, so for him to kick three goals in the last quarter was fantastic,” Ezard said.
Skipper Peter O’Brien was just as influential, combining nicely with young on-baller Kyle Martin to give the Bulls the advantage through the middle.
Dave Velardo led the way up forward, booting four goals to go with a timely assist to Kemperman when the game was on the line.
Having berated his charges for the lack of discipline at three-quarter-time, Ezard later revealed that he could understand their frustration with the whistle-blowers.
“Early in the game they were paying free kicks for the sake of it,” he said.
“The boys did get frustrated and that’s an area we have to work on, but I thought they umpired pretty poorly.”
Noble will travel to Balwyn Park to face the reigning premiers and ladder-leaders on Saturday.