ROBE 11.15 (81) d MOUNT BURR 13.1 (79)
THE Mount Burr Mozzies were unable to make amends for their 2018 grand final loss to Robe and lost by a mere two points at the seaside on Saturday.
Interest in the outcome of the replay of the last season decider was at fever pitch as the Mid South East Football League resumed for 2019.
Although both teams have lost a number of quality A Grade players over summer, the challenge was even greater for the visitors.
They club had to ask five of their long-retired senior players to have a run in B Grade as its playing stocks have been depleted in this realm.
Ex-coaches Phil Lambert and Adam Wiese are both aged 46 while Tim Werchon, Nick Morrison and Nathan Corman are also of riper years.
A number of Mozzies have transferred to Tantanoola during the off-season including 2010 A Grade premiership skipper Andrew Ferguson.
Mount Burr has had a charmed run with injuries over the past decade and usually been able to field its first-choice side in major round contests.
The seasiders had been in good pre-season form and claimed the prestigious Smith-Wilks trophy at home against Kingston last month.
This honours the memory of late Kingston president Cyril Wilks and former Robe premiership coach and triple Mail Medallist Kym Smith.
There were few new faces among the Mozzies but the Roosters boasted such star recruits as Tom Williams and Todd Lockwood and they caught the eye.
It was Lockwood who drew first blood as his side won the toss and his team used the two-goal breeze which favoured the St Peter’s Church (northern) end.
He read the ball off hands and he snapped truly.
It was the first of a game-high tally of five goals for Lockwood and it earned him the best-on-ground ranking.
With the benefit of the breeze, Robe took a 16-point lead into the first change.
After quarter time, the home side managed only 1.3 while the visitors booted five goals straight to go the long break five points clear.
Robe regained the ascendency after half-time and the lead was again 16 points at the final change.
Mount Burr registered its first and only behind at the five-minute mark of the final term.
Robe did well into the breeze and led by as much as 22 points.
This was whittled back as the Mozzies ran the game out well.
Robe coach Jack Kelly said he was pleased to get the win against a quality opponent in Mount Burr.
According to Kelly, his team was wasteful in front of goal and this inaccuracy denied it a greater winning margin.
He rated highly the games of Lockwood, centre half-back Jack Sneath, Kane Cuthbertson in attack and co-captain Jonny Agnew in the middle.
“It has been a fantastic start to the season with two good trial games and now this win over Mount Burr,” Kelly said.
Looking to round two, Mount Burr heads home to “Mick” and Jean Walker Oval to face current ladder leader Glencoe.
The green-and-golds will be looking to retain the Ian McInnes Memorial Shield which honours the memory of a dedicated Mount Burr official.
Meanwhile, Robe will also be on the road to Kalangadoo.
The seasiders won its home-and-away match at this venue in 2018 as well as the second semi final over Mount Burr with a goal by defender Tom Rechner after the final siren.
HATHERLEIGH 18.18 (126) d KONGORONG 4.9 (33)
NOVICE coaches faced off when Hatherleigh’s Gerard McGrath took his team on the road to meet Will Whitty’s Kongorong.
It was a win first-up for McGrath, but his Eagles did not stamp their authority on the contest until the third term.
The Hawks had a number of high-profile departures over summer and the 21 on Saturday could not match their opponents slick use of the ball.
The best for the Eagles were Jase Bateman and Mitch Pulmer while Sam Telfer was on song in attack with 7.4.
It was Telfer’s first A Grade game in a few seasons as he has been living in the United Kingdom.
McGrath said the match was a more competitive contest than the scoreboard indicated.
One of the surprise inclusions for the Eagles was Ben Parish who was last seen in a Robe guernsey in 2011.
“It is good to have Ben back at Hatherleigh where he played his junior footy,” McGrath said.
“We did lose Todd Watson to a knee injury and he will have scans in Adelaide this week.”
The win was a tonic for Hatherleigh and sets up their round-two encounter at home with Port MacDonnell, who had the bye in round one.
On the other hand, Whitty and his team travel to Nangwarry on Saturday.
They do not want to be the first victim of the Saints since the Robe Roosters in 2014.
Whitty did play his first match since the winning grand final in 2017.
He booted one goal but spent lengthy periods on the bench.
Another ex-Mozzie to transfer to the Hawks over summer was triple premiership player Tommy Hales.
GLENCOE 32.19 (211) d NANGWARRY 6.4 (40)
THERE was to be no fairy-tale start for 2019 for Nangwarry as its trip to Glencoe resulted in a heavy defeat.
The Saints have been adopted by every fair-minded footy follower since a probable arson attack destroyed their clubrooms over three months ago.
However, the undermanned visitors were no match for the strengthened and emboldened home side which is tipped to go top three in 2019.
Social commitments such as weddings robbed Nangwarry of a number of their first-choice players and the mismatch in playing strength was obvious by quarter time.
By then Glencoe had piled on 16.8 and conceded just 2.3 to take a commanding 89-point lead.
By game’s end the margin had grown out to 171 points.
The victors were keen to do well for the sake of their inspirational coach Zacc Cocks in his 150th game.
He suffered an accidental knock to the jaw in the third term and stayed off the ground thereafter.
There were two other minuses for the Murphies, with Patrick Mitchell breaking his arm and Tom Edwards issued with two yellow cards.
Cocks said Mitchell had required an ambulance and is set to be on the sidelines for six to eight weeks.
“He was the best the for us as he played in the forward line and in the mids and had heaps of the ball,” Cocks said.
“Nangwarry was a lot more competitive with players like Ricky Lindner than they have been.”
The Murphies make the northward trip along the Overland Track to face Mount Burr in round two while Nangwarry’s chances of ending the five-year drought of success are shortening.
The Saints host the Hawks who also lost heavily in the opening round.
KALANGADOO 18.17 (125) d TANTANOOLA 5.11 (41)
AN inexperienced Tantanoola was no match for Kalangadoo at Tigerland with the margin at the final bell 84 points.
The playing strength of the Magpies is on a par with 2018, but the same cannot be said for the Tigers.
Led by the likes of Ben Gregory with a game-high tally of five goals, the black-and-whites moved the ball well and had the game in their keeping by quarter time when the margin had blown out to 37 points.
Tantanoola coach Josh Peters was pleased with the efforts of his young players and singled out midfielder Alex Roberts and wingman Ethan Glass.
Peters said the oldest player in his team is Sam Haniford who is 30.
“Kalangadoo is a more experienced side with bigger bodies,” Peters said.
“They were cool under pressure and hit targets.
“This created the scoreboard pressure while we kicked a lot of points.
“It was good to have Chris Hale come through after a long break due to injury.”
According to Peters, the Magpies had three players which stood out.
They were Gregory, Casterton Sandford recruit Billy Galpin and on-baller Andrew Stone.
In the curtain-raiser, Tantanoola unveiled several recruits who have switched from Mount Burr over summer.
In round two Kalangadoo hosts reigning premiers Robe, while Tantanoola has the bye.
The next outing for the Tigers is at Robe on Good Friday on April 19 with the club accepting a $3000 cash incentive to play on the sacred day.
