By Jonty Ralphsmith
Killed on turnovers, punished by a lack of polish.
Near enough wasn’t good enough for Hampton Park on Saturday against a more seasoned Murrumbeena, eventually going down 12.12.84 to 11.9.75.
The Redbacks laid a strong foundation in the first quarter of their Southern Division Two clash, defending high up the ground and applying pressure to lock the ball in its forward half in the opening quarter.
A late goal to Kyle Hendy saw Hayden Stanton’s men go into the first break leading by nine points, but that still belied what felt like a four-to-five-goal supremacy.
The inside 50s were chaotic, rather than controlled and efficient early on, and then those entries dried up considerably in the second stanza.
Murrumbeena was able to turn it around in the centre and Hampton Park’s pressured exit kicks didn’t allow them to pick their way through.
But, like the Redbacks in the first quarter, Murrumbeena scored more behinds than goals.
A third quarter arm wrestle paved the way for a tense climax, with Murrumbeena taking an eight-point lead into what became a shootout late.
Playing high octane footy, Kyle Hendy, Nathan Carver, Dylan Morris and Declan Brunnell all had moments where they looked dangerous.
But Murrumbeena kept them at bay through a high inside 50 conversion rate.
Every time Hampton Park would close to within two goals and look to gain momentum, the hosts would kick one against the grain.
Hendy looked like he had finally closed the margin to within a goal, banging it through on the line, only for the goal umpire to adjudicate he had crossed the white paint before kicking it.
Murrumbeena went forward from the kick in, and a deliberate out of bounds was paid against Tristan Fernandez-Phillips to the disbelief of all and sundry inside Murrumbeena’s forward 50.
When the Murrumbeena attacker passed off and the kick wasn’t 15, he was tackled and dispossessed, but the umpire called play on before eventually balling it up.
The collective frustration from three decisions the Redbacks felt went against them caused a minor scuffle to break out as the ball was tossed up, opening the pathway for Murrumbeena to snap the certain match-winner.
The coach, however, was pragmatic, highlighting that Murrumbeena was ultimately better for longer.
If the Redbacks could have sustained the dominance of the start for longer, the chaos of the last quarter would have been immaterial to the result for the Redbacks would have had the lead.
No doubt he would’ve said as much to his fired up players, keeping them on the field post-match away from prying ears to deliver a stern message.
Included for his first game of the season, Jesse Naylor played an important negating role in the first half which helped stymie the hosts rebound.
His day came to an abrupt end, though, with his dislocated shoulder coinciding with the time period when Murrumbeena started to gain control as his direct opponent got off the leash.
Naylor was also involved with ball in hand, fitting in seamlessly as he had an important hand in the first goal of the game.
As well as Naylor, dangerous front half player Trent Thomas was on the bench for the majority of the second half with a foot injury.
Makaio Haywood and skipper Liam Myatt each racked it up in the midfield and were classy with ball in hand.
The Redbacks looked their most dangerous when winger Tanner Stanton worked hard up and down the wings but, playing a similar brand, Murrumbeena ultimately outlasted the visitors.
CARVER’S ALMOST DAY
At three quarter time, full forward Nathan Carver implored his side to get it in quickly and give him a chance.
The Redbacks started to take the more direct route in the final stanza, needing to outscore the opposition by three goals to win.
Carver kicked the first goal of the final quarter to give the visitors energy after taking a strong one-on-one mark deep inside 50.
It was his third – and ultimately last – of an indifferent day for the big forward.
The focal point of the forward line, he was targeted repeatedly by Hampton Park.
He sneaked through the second goal of the day but was a victim early of Hampton Park’s midfielders’ inefficiency going inside 50.
Thereafter he grassed a handful of marks he would’ve backed himself to take, but created a contest to allow the front and centre forwards to get to work.
He’ll also be disappointed to have missed several shots on goal throughout the game but will back himself to bounce back against Highett with the ingredients he showed on the day.
The Redbacks currently sit third, two games off top and equal on percentage with sixth-placed Skye.
They head to Highett this week to take on the fifth-placed Bulldogs.
