Seven goals to Jarryd Ramsay led Melton to a strong win in its opening Ballarat Football Netball League clash with Sebastopol at the weekend, giving new coach Brad Murphy the perfect start to his Bloods tenure.
The Bloods won just one game last season but look a far more dangerous side this year under Murphy, who kicked four goals himself to guide Melton to a resounding 22.12 (144) to 11.8 (74) win.
Michael Powell kicked eight goals for Sebastopol to be a clear standout for the vanquished, but it was the Bloods singing the victory song at the end – the result of a bigger spread of contributors across all four quarters.
In the netball clash, it was again Melton who took the win, dominating Sebastopol from the start for a 61-42 victory. Melissa McCauley was a star for Melton with 59 goals.
In other games, Darley started strongly against Sunbury to lead at quarter-time but couldn’t maintain it, losing by 14 points.
It was tight all day, but Darley was on the wrong end of some strong scoring from Sunbury which took the four points, 14.8 (92) to
12.6 (78). Jake Edwards and Rhys Ellis kicked half of Darley’s score with three goals apiece.
It was a similar story in the netball, with Sunbury too strong for the visitors who ran away with a 53-24 win.
Melton South was competitive for three quarters against Ballarat but fell apart in the final quarter to go down 10.13 (73) to 19.14 (128). Melton South led at quarter-time but lost the final three quarters, with Ballarat kicking nine final-quarter goals.
The Melton South netballers had a better day, registering a 41-24 win.
