Tara Murray
Melton Centrals were going through the records on Saturday night after their win against Riddell in the Riddell District Football League.
The two sides have spent much of the last decade at other ends on the ladder, but it meant little on Saturday with the Centrals causing an upset.
It was a low scoring game with the Centrals leading by 15 points at half time, before the Bombers reduced it to two points at the final break.
Most people would have expected the Bombers to go on with it, but they weren’t able to make the most of their opportunities.
The Bombers kicked just seven behinds in the final quarter, but weren’t able to find the goal they needed.
Centrals had just one scoring shot for the final term, a goal which proved to be the winner in the 8.7 (55)-7.12 (54) win.
Centrals coach Mathew Sproule said they weren’t sure if they had ever beaten Riddell in the seniors before.
“I’m just relieved that the effort the playing group has put in, has been super,” he said.
“I saw it at the end of last year. I didn’t know much about them.
“They’ve improved each week. We didn’t have a great third quarter and they had the scoring end in the last quarter. It got a bit scary at the end.
“We’re heading in the right direction, but until you start to get the wins it can be a hard sell.
Sproule said it was heart that got his group over the line in the end, having been on the wrong side of close ones so many times in recent years.
After failing to score a goal in the third quarter, Sproule said they put the pressure back on themselves.
“We just toughed it out,” he said. “They had the scoring end, we didn’t make the most of it in the third quarter.
“It was only one to two goals. We were under the pump. Ben Sonogan missed a couple of goals from 40-45 metres out.
“We defended really well and put a lot of numbers behind the footy. We got that one goal which was crucial.”
Dylan Jobson was the only multiple goal kicker for Centrals with two goals.
Sproule said it was the midfield that led the way again for the side.
“Jake Armistead, Will Thornton-Gielen and James Roberts were really good,” he said. “Roberts has been back three games from injury now.
“The three mids and our ruck Evan Donoghue have been super every week.”
The win was Centrals’ second and they now sit percentage out of the top five.
The Centrals have the next two weeks off with a bye and then the King’s Birthday weekend.
Sproule said it comes at the perfect time for the side.
“We had half a dozen out, we should get some troops back,” he said.
“Then we could have a good crack at Diggers Rest. It’s good to see where we are at, we can;t find to test ourselves.”
Meanwhile, Diggers Rest came out on top in the top of the table clash against Wallan.
The Burras headed up to Greenhill Reserve on Saturday to face the Wallan, with both sides undefeated after the first seven rounds.
The Burras started the better of the two sides and led by 10 points at the first break, before extending that to 22 points at the main break.’
The margin stayed steady in the third quarter, with the Burras leading 19 points at the final break.
The Magpies needed quick goals in the final quarter but they didn’t come, with the Burras doing enough to win 10.14 (74)-8.5 (53).
