Bulls bounce back

By Paul Pickering
SOME tenpin bowling and a bruising Thursday night on the track was the prelude to Noble Park’s 47-point win over Norwood on Saturday.
Bulls coach Alan Ezard didn’t bother with the normal match review after his side’s humiliating loss to Vermont the previous weekend. He figured his charges had suffered enough and backed them to respond.
They repaid that faith at Mullum Reserve on Saturday, accounting for the seventh-placed Norsemen with a minimum of fuss.
The Bulls kicked with the advantage of a gale in the opening term, overcoming a scrappy start to open up a five-goal lead at the first change. They were resolute in defence during the second and fourth quarters, with noted forwards Paul Fermanis and Heath Black shifting back to help keep Norwood at arm’s length.
In the end, the Bulls were never threatened in a gritty performance that drew liberal praise from the coach.
“It was a really solid win,” Ezard said. “The boys knew they had a bad one (against Vermont) and, collectively, they worked really hard during the week. To their credit, they bounced back really well. Barring that first 10 to 12 minutes, I thought we probably outplayed them for 90 per cent of the game.”
Ezard was delighted with his re-jigged defensive unit. Fermanis and Black added some extra muscle to complement the experience of Adrian Little, and Ziggy Alwan and Nick Williams hurt the Norsemen on the rebound. Enigmatic wingman Shayne Allan booted a career-high six goals, while George Angelopoulos bagged four in a dogged performance up forward.
Norwood was well served by gun midfielder Evan Johnson and ruckman Jonathan Wynn, but couldn’t find a consistent avenue to goal. Noble is now sitting in sixth place, just three percentage points outside the finals bracket and one-win adrift of third spot.
The Bulls will travel to East Burwood Reserve to face the eighth-placed Rams this Saturday.