SENIOR COLTS – PENOLA 7.9 (51) d BORDERTOWN 2.4 (17)
THE taste of victory returned to the Penola Football Club after its Senior Colts claimed their first win of the year in round two of the Kowree Naracoorte Tatiara Junior Football League season on Saturday.
After a challenging opening game against Kybybolite, the Eagles travelled to Bordertown and bounced back to knock over the home side by 34 points.
A low-scoring encounter was on the cards after only five points separated the sides during a slow first quarter before Penola broke the game open.
The Eagles flew away from the Roosters during the second and third terms by kicking five goals to one.
Suddenly Penola led by 29 points at the final break and the game was all-but over.
Scoring dried up in the last quarter with the Eagles kicking the only goal to record a 51-17 victory.
Penola Senior Colts coach Dylan Morton said the key to the win was the group’s ability to play as one.
“We played as a team – everyone was involved and contributed which was fantastic,” he said.
“What I have been aiming and striving for all season is to have strong team work and discipline.
“They helped their team mates out a lot more than times in the past.”
Morton believes the mentality on the field allowed his team to play some attractive football to take the game away in the middle stages in “spot on” conditions.
“It was a good standard of football with a fast tempo,” he said.
“It was very close for the first couple of quarters, but then we opened it up quite well.
“They went about the game plan, used the ground a lot better and started running to space.
“It was a very free-flowing game and a joy to watch if you were a spectator.”
A lack of playing numbers created a difficult obstacle for both teams to even take the field.
Only 13 players were allowed on the ground per side with wings, rovers, back and forward pockets missing from the starting positions.
The reduced amount of players forced some individuals to rise and make a bigger impact on the game.
No less than six Eagles kicked truly with Jake Klemm the leading goal scorer with two majors.
Around the ground, Morton said he noticed Darcy Porter and Joel Dent made the most notable impressions.
“We all know Darcy can play football, but this week I put it on him to be a captain, show leadership and bring everyone with him,” Morton said.
“He certainly did that and I think he took his game to another level.
“I put Joel at centre half back and his run and drive was awesome.”
Samuel Hayes, Dylan Morton and Anders McShane were the others to receive mentions in the best.
Morton also highlighted the four fill ins from the Junior Colts ranks, who put their hand up to help the older side take the field despite not getting much game time.
After a strong team performance, Morton is now more confident his group has what it takes to be a threat for the remainder of the season.
“You do not know where the opposition teams are really at compared to your lads, but I certainly think we are around the mark,” he said.
“Hopefully we can be a little bit better than the others on the day.”
Penola will play Padthaway/Lucindale at 11.30am in Lucindale on Saturday.
JUNIOR COLTS – BORDERTOWN 11.6 (72) d PENOLA 1.0 (6)
IT was another tough day at the office for Penola’s Junior Colts side, which suffered a second consecutive defeat in the 2020 Kowree Naracoorte Junior Football League season at Bordertown on Saturday.
The Eagles fought hard, but the Roosters utilised their superior height to score a 66-point win.
A difficult battle was evident during the early stages for Penola, after the home side prevented the visitors from scoring in the first quarter.
The Eagles eventually broke through with a goal off the boot of Ben Copping in the second term, but it proved to be the team’s only score in the game.
Bordertown went on to extend the lead across the second half with the scoreboard reading 72-6 after the final siren.
Despite the heavy defeat, Penola Junior Colts coach Phil Gartner said he was pleased with how his group performed against another formidable side.
“They played a lot better than the first week and the scoreboard did not reflect the game at all,” he said.
“I would say the boys had around 50pc of the play, but we had to work really hard to get the ball in our forward line and just struggled to score.
“The boys did everything they could.”
Gartner put the inability to score down to Bordertown’s vast selection of tall players, who made life hard for the young Eagles.
“Their backline was full of really big players, so we were just out-sized basically,” he said.
“They were a good team with a lot of big bodies around, so they could turn the ball over and score quickly.
“We put our better players around the ball to push it forward and spread the other fellas out, but when we got the ball inside 50, they had some big lads and it was hard for us to compete.
“We tried our best, but at the end of the day they just had too many big guys in different positions around the ground.”
Despite contending with the height disadvantage, many Penola players managed to make an impact in the middle.
Zac Zema secured top votes after he played a “sensational” game in the ruck and around the ground.
Thomas Currie produced a good four-quarter effort and Copping found plenty of touches on the wing.
After playing in the midfield Cooper Gartner performed a role under pressure at full back, while Ned Skeer also received a mention.
Positive performances like those have given the Eagles’ coach good reason to remain optimistic about the path ahead.
“I could not find any negatives from the way they played at all,” Phil Gartner said.
“They have had a couple of heavy losses, but their spirit and attitude is 100pc.
“I believe we have played the best two teams in the competition, so that definitely gives me a lot of confidence they are only a week away from kicking a good score.
“I have no doubt our footy will keep getting better.”
