A six-goal third-quarter burst from Riddell sank Melton Centrals in round two of the Riddell District Football League on Saturday.
In a scrappy, hard-contested affair at Gardner Reserve in Gisborne, the Bombers prevailed, 13.13 (91) to 8.8 (56).
PICTURE GALLERY: Melton Centrals v Riddell
But the reigning premiers looked far from their best for most of the game as the Centrals took it up to them for three quarters.
Riddell led by four points at quarter-time and just couldn’t shake the Centrals, who kicked three goals in the second term to stay within striking distance at half-time.
The Bombers played a brilliant half hour of footy in the third term, kicking six goals and holding Melton scoreless to take the game by the scruff of the neck.
Riddell had earned a 47-point lead at the final break, but the Bombers struggled to maintain intensity as they tired in the last term. Melton booted four of the six goals kicked in the fourth to cut the margin to 35 by game’s end.
Peter Robertson led the way for Riddell with four goals, while Brian Ruffell (three) and a slimmed-down James Nolan (two) were also among the goals.
Pat Cariss did a great job in the ruck in his debut for the Bombers. For the Centrals, Jake Thomas presented well up forward.
Centrals coach Brian Wheelahan was pleased with his outfit’s competitiveness but bemoaned a lacklustre third term.
“If you give quality sides 10 or 15 minutes they’re just going to kill you every time,” he said.
“We threw everything we had at them and it gives our boys the confidence that our best footy can match it, but we took our foot off the pedal in the third quarter and got burnt.”
Riddell coach Troy Scoble admitted his side was “a fair way off it at the moment”.
“We’re just trying to get as much conditioning into the players as we can,” he said. “We weren’t clean with the ball in the first half and the Centrals played a finals-like contested style of footy.”
