By ROY WARD
THE sleeping Bulls have awoken and unheralded ruckman Glen Manson appears to be the one sounding the alarm.
Two-time Eastern Football League division 1 premier Noble Park signalled its intent to win a third flag by overcoming several injuries to beat previously unbeaten Scoresby by 13 points at Scoresby on Saturday.
After two losses in the first three matches the Bulls looked a shadow of the side that had won the past two flags.
But a week after beating Blackburn the Bulls turned on a six goals to two final term to transform an 11-point three-quarter-time deficit into a 13-point win despite captain Craig Anderson injuring his shoulder and Jarrod Plymin injuring his hamstring.
“Apart from the two grand final wins, that was the best win we have had in my time at the club,” Bulls coach Mick Fogarty said. “We had no rotations and were a couple of goals down. To produce a quarter of football like that was brilliant.”
Fogarty also lauded Manson’s heart and effort as an inspiration to his teammates. “Manson was just outstanding in the way he led the way and the boys followed; it was inspirational,” he said.
“He is a very competitive player who wears his heart on his sleeve and that was the best second half he has produced since he got here from Frankston. He said to the boys ‘follow me and we will win’ and they followed.”
The only blot on Manson’s day was that he got reported late in the game and accepted a two-week suspension.
Fogarty said Anderson would probably miss at least two weeks as he had also been carrying knee and hamstring injuries over the past few weeks.
“He has been a wounded warrior for us and probably only been 60 per cent fit,” he said. “So he may need a couple of weeks to get his body right.”
Bulls recruit Cohen Howell added another notch to his belt as a tagger running with Magpies star Adam Parker and restricting the highly respected on-baller while Nick Williams and Brad Scalzo also turned on season-best performances.
For full results click on Scoreboard link at upper right.
The Bulls’ next match is against East Burwood at Pat Wright Senior Oval this Saturday at 2.10pm.
THIS WEEK
Victorian Football League:
VFL interleague: Tasmanian State League v Victorian Football League, Hobart 1pm.
TAC Cup: Murray Bushrangers v Dandenong Stingrays, Highgate Recreation Reserve 11am
Southern Football League:
Division 1: Cheltenham v Clayton, Jack Barker Oval 2.10pm; St Kilda City v Heatherton, Peanut Farm Reserve 2pm; Dingley v St Paul’s, Souter Oval 2.30pm.
Division 2: Bentleigh v Oakleigh District, Bentleigh Reserve 2pm; Southern Dragons v East Malvern, Keeley Park 2pm; Black Rock v Springvale Districts, McDonald Reserve 2pm.
Division 3: Ashwood v Mount Waverley, Essex Heights Reserve 2pm; Dandenong v Lyndale, Greaves Reserve 2pm; Hallam v Sandown, Hallam Reserve 2pm; Caulfield v Endeavour Hills, Koornang Park Reserve 2pm; Moorabbin v Doveton Eagles, Widdop Crescent Reserve 2pm.
Eastern Football League:
Division 1: South Croydon v Balwyn, Cheong Park 2.10pm; East Ringwood v Norwood, East Ringwood Reserve 2.10pm; Knox v Croydon, Knox Gardens Reserve 2.10pm; Noble Park v East Burwood, Pat Wright Senior Oval 2.10pm; Lilydale v Scoresby, Scoresby Recreation Reserve 2.10pm.
Division 2: Donvale v Montrose, Donvale Reserve 2.10pm; Mooroolbark v Doncaster, Heights Reserve 2.10pm; Upper Ferntree Gully v Bayswater, Kings Park 2.10pm; Mulgrave v Waverley Blues, Mulgrave Reserve 2.10pm; Rowville v Doncaster East, Seebeck Oval 2.10pm.
Division 3: Glen Waverley Hawks v Whitehorse Pioneers, Capital Reserve 2.10pm; Chirnside Park v Heathmont, Kimberley Reserve 2.10pm; North Ringwood v Templestowe, Quambee Reserve 2.10pm; Mitcham v Coldstream, Walker Park 2.10pm; Wantirna South v Boronia, Walker Reserve 2.10pm; Warrandyte v Ringwood, Warrandyte Reserve 2.10pm.
Casey Cardinia Football League: Interleague football, Casey Cardinia v Nepean FL, Berwick 2pm.
All games on Saturday unless otherwise stated.
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