Bacchus Marsh kept its Ballarat Football League finals hopes alive with a 51-point smashing of Melton on Saturday.
After a tight first half, the Cobras blew the game apart in the third and fourth terms. They kicked 11 goals to four after the main break to win 17.11 (113) to 9.8 (62).
Cobras’ football manager, Adam Sutherland, was happy with the way his players bounced back from a slow start.
“We were probably a bit sloppy in the first half,” he said. “That’s been something we’ve tried to work on all season.
‘‘In the second half, our skill level improved; we put some score on the board and got some confidence. From there the boys really kicked on, which was great to see.”
There was no stopping the Cobras’ forward line double act, with Benjamin Peters and Cameron Richardson kicking four goals each. They were well supported by Simon Lafranchi, who worked hard around the ground.
For Melton, Brett McIntyre didn’t go down without a fight, kicking four goals to be named the Bloods’ best player.
Saturday’s loss put an end to Melton’s slim finals hopes, with the Bloods officially out of the race.
Melton is ninth on the BFL ladder with a 5-9 record. The Bloods have also had a draw to their name.
Bacchus Marsh, Sunbury and East Point are all locked on 36 points in the fight for the final spot in the BFL’s top six.
All three sides will play teams above them on the ladder in this weekend’s final round.
With Bacchus Marsh facing the all- conquering North Ballarat City, the Cobras will be hoping Sunbury goes down to Lake Wendouree and East Point comes up short against Darley. Bacchus Marsh holds a superior percentage, which should be enough to get them into finals.
However, a win to any of the three will almost certainly guarantee a finals spot.
Sutherland said his side was looking forward to the challenge.
“It’s only been in the Redan game this year that we’ve been dominated from start to finish,” he said, “but we’ve been pretty happy with our season as a whole.
“We’re still smarting from the first time we played [North Ballarat City] and got beaten. It will be good for us to test ourselves against the reigning premiers to see how we stack up.
“If we bring that same intensity for four quarters next week, it will be a great test.”
Also in round 17, Darley overcame a challenge from Melton South before winning by 65 points. The lopsided scoreline didn’t do the Panthers justice after they trailed by just seven points at the final break.
Darley showed its class in a nine-goal final term to secure the win, 22.19 (151) to 13.8 (86).
