By JARROD POTTER
EASTERN FOOTBALL LEAGUE – ROUND 8
POUNCED on by more nimble opposition, Noble Park suffered its biggest loss of the season at the hands of perennial rival Balwyn.
Balwyn kicked 10 goals on the trot to showcase the might of its four-strong forward line – Jeff Gobbels, Luke Barker, Brendan Goss and Blake Broadhurst – en route to a 66-point triumph at Moodemere Street.
Outside of a scintillating first quarter – with Kyle Martin (4 goals) jagging two of his bag in a lead-out performance from the goal square – Noble Park struggled to match pace or intensity with Balwyn.
While some may point to the legion of unavailable players – Shayne Allan, Ziggie Alwan, Jackson Sketcher and Brett Dore among others – as a reason for the Noble Park capitulation, rest assured the Bulls would not want any excuse against its name after the woeful performance.
It was evident instead that Balwyn was more determined and far more willing to put their bodies on the line to get the job done.
Seemingly half the Tigers’ outfit walked off the field limping or with a bandage or two, but the Balwyn line-up just shrugged off the pain and resumed the task at hand.
Dan Donato’s charges walked all over Mick Fogarty’s men, in scenes reminiscent of the 2013 EFL grand final when these two coaches last clashed.
Outside of some consolation goals in the fourth term – once the match was well-and-truly run and won – the Bulls could not find enough scoreboard pressure to put the Tigers on the back foot.
Gallantly fighting from the defensive end, Piva Wright made the most of his promotion back to the first side as he held Broadhurst to two goals and Jarryd Plymin also endeavoured from the last line.
The midfield brigade – Craig Anderson and Sam Monaghan – were impressive early and once Martin switched from deep forward to the centre square, he helped rally the Bulls with 28 possessions.
Noble Park drops to third on the EFL Division-1 ladder – behind Balwyn and Vermont – and travel on Saturday to face last placed Lilydale.
EFL SCOREBOARD
NOBLE PARK 5.3 6.5 7.6 11.8 (74)
BALWYN 5.0 11.3 15.6 21.14 (140)
Noble Park Goals: K. Martin 4, T. Harper 2, S. Monaghan 2, J. Ferguson, J. Plymin, C. Anderson. Best: K. Martin, C. Anderson, S. Monaghan, P. Wright, T. Robertson.
Balwyn Goals: J. Gobbels 5, B. Goss 5, L. Barker 4, B. Broadhurst 2, J. Matheson, R. Gilchrist, C. Sanfilippo, J. Meesen, M. Sheppard. Best: T. Roach, K. Pendlebury, J. Gobbels, B. Goss, R. Gilchrist, J. Goldsack.
