A SLOW start cost Melton dearly on Saturday as a Bloods comeback fell three points short against Lake Wendouree in Ballarat Football League.
At Darley, the Devils cashed in a handy percentage boost to stay in the mix for third spot.
The Bloods kicked one goal to Lake Wendouree’s six in the first quarter and spent the day reeling in the deficit in the 11.7 (73) to 11.10 (76) loss.
PICTURE GALLERY: Bacchus Marsh v Sunbury
Melton’s first crack at the wind-assisted end of MacPherson Park reduced the deficit from 32 to seven at half-time, before the Lakers edged the third term to lead by 15 at the final change.
Melton held Lake Wendouree goalless in the final term but could only kick 2.3 as the Lakers (ninth, 4-10) held on to ensure they would finish above Melton (10th, 1-12) on the table.
Darren Haby kicked four goals for Melton on his return from suspension while Jake Gleeson, Ryan Davis and Dillon Sharp were among the better Bloods.
“They kicked six goals in the first quarter and that was probably the ball game right there,” Melton coach Bob Heaney said. “It has been a problem with our young guys all year, so we’ll have to look at that.”
At Darley, visiting Sebastopol kicked just two majors for the afternoon as Darley posted a convincing 19.13 (127) to 2.7 (19) win.
Darley (fourth, 9-4) has a better percentage than third-placed Redan (10-3) with three rounds remaining.
Dwayne Edwards and best afield Rhys Ellis booted five goals each, while Mark Hanson and Sam Hitchings were other better players in the romp. “We were a bit sloppy up forward in the first quarter with 22 entries for only 3.6, so we wanted to tidy that up after half-time,” Darley coach Rod MacPherson said.
“We did that well in the second half.”
With finals looming, MacPherson is turning his attention to his side’s injury list.
“We lost Scott McAllester mid-week, along with Chris McGill, so we just want to stabilise the team heading into the finals – and make sure we keep getting consistency,” he said.
In Ballarat Netball League A-grade, Melton moved into the top two with a dominant defensive display against Lake Wendouree.
The Bloods kept Lake Wendouree scoreless in the first quarter on the way to a 31-10 win.
Defenders Jaclyn Fogarty and Brooke Thompson were the stand-outs as Melton (11-2, 52 points) climbed into third at East Point’s expense (12-2, 52) after the Roos lost 47-39 to ladder leader North Ballarat City (12-1, 56).
Around the courts, Darley missed a big chance to close in on the top six as visiting Sebastopol pulled off a 33-28 upset.
Sunbury was too strong for Bacchus Marsh, winning 63-28.
In Victorian Netball League, Darley players Olivia Aughton and Talei Bari won the division 1 title with Boroondara Genesis last Wednesday. For an action gallery from the VNL finals, go to meltonweekly.com.au.
— with Michael Hankin and James Taylor, Ballarat Courier
