Sport
6 April, 2022
Kolora-Noorat go down to Panmure
KOLORA-NOORAT battled hard against a strong Panmure outfit last Saturday but couldn’t prevail against the home side, losing 6.5 (41) to 15.13 (103).
KOLORA-NOORAT battled hard against a strong Panmure outfit last Saturday but couldn’t prevail against the home side, losing 6.5 (41) to 15.13 (103).
The match was abandoned mid-way through the last quarter after Power players Brad Lucas and Chris Baxter suffered significant lower body injuries, but by then the result was no longer in doubt.
The Bulldogs capitalised on the opportunity to kick with a strong wind during the first and third quarters, kicking 11 goals to the Power’s one in those periods.
Kolora-Noorat outscored their opponents five goals to four during the two quarters they had the assistance of the breeze, which was pleasing to Power coach Nick Bourke.
“We used the ball a lot better during those quarters, which is obviously easier to do when you have the wind advantage,” Bourke said.
“But when they had it they got a good run on, which we found difficult to stop.
“When we gained control it was really good to watch, there were a lot of positives to take out of the game, and it probably wasn’t as bad as the score suggests.”
Bourke was particularly impressed with the way his side’s younger players competed with the bigger Panmure team.
“We had maybe five or six under 18s playing, and they were really promising,” he said.
“They fought really hard against a strong and competitive side in Panmure.
“Fred Beasley was one of those, he’s only 16, and a pretty light kid, so to see him crack in for the whole game was really good.”
Beasley kicked one of the Power’s goals and was named in their best, alongside captain Joel Moloney who delivered a typically strong performance for his side.
“Joel did what he does week in week out, he battled really hard,” Bourke said.
Bourke said his players were shaken by the graphic injuries to two of their players, and he was happy to conclude the match when offered the chance.
“Brad Lucas dislocated and broke his ankle, then Chris Baxter dislocated his knee cap five or 10 minutes later,” he said.
“(Panmure coach) Chris Bant waved to me on the sidelines and wondered if we wanted to call it, and I was happy to, the spark had leftthe game.
“Those guys are good friends with a lot of the players, and really good people, so it’s difficult to watch.”
The Power’s next match is against Nirranda, who trounced Dennington last week by 71 points, and Bourke knows his side will face a similar challenge this week.
“They’re much like Panmure, I think they’ll be top two,” he said.
“We’ll be focusing on our defensive work this week, I felt like we let Panmure move the ball around a bit too easily at times and take control.
“If we can cause some turnovers in our forward 50 this week and give our forwards some really good opportunities we might be able to match them.
“They’re a great side, they’ve got some seasoned players, so we’re really looking forward to it.”
In other matches around the league, Old Collegians went down to Allansford, Merrivale defeated Timboon by 156 points and Russells Creek beat South Rovers.