By JARROD POTTER
UGLY football won the day for Noble Park in their 34-point win over East Ringwood, but it isn’t the brand coach Mick Fogarty wants his charges to play regularly.
Spraying shots and letting the Kangaroos rebound effortlessly from their forward half, the Bulls had to dig deep to ensure the win came home with them.
The renewed efforts of Brett Dore (three goals), relishing his shift from the Ellinbank District Football League, Matt Dunne (three) and George Angelopoulos (two) kept the scoreboard ticking, while Sammy Monaghan and Stewart Kemperman were outstanding in victory.
Fogarty said the win wasn’t their finest hour, but four points were four points no matter how you reaped them.
“We were in control pretty much all day – again it was a pretty ugly win, but we were happy to withstand the challenges of east Ringwood where we failed the week before to Blackburn,” Fogarty said.
“We’re not in great form at the moment, but that’s OK – we’ve got some new faces in the side who are adapting to the way we’re playing.
Gut-runners in the centre Monaghan and Mitchem performed to their usual lofty standards, while the defensive end – studded by Kemperman, Jarrod Plymin and Tim Kelly – showed the resilience needed.
“Our backline was outstanding – they had a lot of easy balls coming in to deal with,” Fogarty said.
Kemperman managed to get back into the line-up from injury – which Fogarty believed was a main factor in the win.
“Had a twinge last week and missed the game against Blackburn, and he makes a difference – we think if Stewy played against Blackburn we would’ve won,” he said.
“But that’s hypothesising – he was outstanding and is a very talented footballer.”
The biggest game yet this season – Noble Park versus reigning premiers Vermont – will take place at Moodemere Street on Saturday.
