RYAN Pretty kicked nine goals as Sunbury Kangaroos coasted to a 53-point win over Rockbank in the inaugural Riddell District Football League Anzac Day clash.
A gallant Rockbank was powerless to stop the might of Pretty, who largely did as he pleased up forward.
He has 13 goals from three games after leading the league with 47 goals in the under-18.5 competition last season.
But the game was closer than the scoreboard suggests. The Rams looked very good in patches, with the likes of NT Thunder recruit Shaun Wilson and Russell Rich doing enough to trouble the Kangaroos.
But it was their poor start that did them in.
Despite several forward-50 thrusts, Rockbank could manage only a solitary point as Sunbury slotted four to take a 26-point lead at quarter time.
The Rams matched Sunbury for effort in the second and third terms but were never able to stem the Kangaroos’ scoring. But for some inaccurate kicking — 5.8 in the third quarter alone — the margin would have been far greater.
With full-back-of-the-year Daniel Gregory holding the fort in defence, Sunbury extended the lead in the final term as the Rams’ intensity dropped off.
After the game, Sunbury coach Chris Meacham was annoyed with his side’s ball use and inaccuracy in front of goal.
“It was a solid win. We’ve won by nine goals in the end, but we’ve kicked 18 points and bad kicking is bad football. Not to take away from Rockbank, but the nine-goal win should have easily been a 15-goal win.
“We murdered the ball a hell of a lot today. From a coaching point of view that was disappointing but we still had a good day and it’s not often you get to play on Anzac Day.”
Rockbank coach Leigh Sporle said he was disappointed but not defeated by the loss.
“It wasn’t the best day out, but I think the boys tried hard and I was proud of some of the footy they played.
“The hard thing was that the game was probably a bit closer than the scoreboard showed. The boys played pretty well in patches. I was pretty happy with some of the things I saw today.”
Both Sunbury and Rockbank will have an extended nine-day break before their matches against Woodend-Hesket and Diggers Rest on Saturday.
