Sport
7 April, 2022
Magpies kick off season with a win
CAMPERDOWN held its nerve when it saw off a competitive Terang Mortlake side to win its opening game of the season on Saturday night.
CAMPERDOWN held its nerve when it saw off a competitive Terang Mortlake side to win its opening game of the season on Saturday night.
Tim Fitzgerald kicked five goals to help propel his side to victory, the Magpies winning 14.8 (92) against the Bloods 9.14 (68).
Camperdown got off to a fast start, leading by 14 points at quarter time, but an early second quarter resurgence saw Terang Mortlake contest for the lead.
The Magpies finished strongly, kicking seven goals to four in the second half as they controlled the game.
In addition to his five goals, Fitzgerald combined well in the forward line with captain Sam Gordon, who also slotted two for the Magpies.
Cameron Spence was a consistent figure for Camperdown through the middle alongside Zach Sinnot and Harry Sumner on the wing, while a new-look backline held its composure to restrict the Bloods to a single goal in the last period.
Luke O’Neil retired from the game in the last quarter with a hamstring issue, while Brayden Draffin suffered a hand injury and was also forced from the field, although early reports indicated O’Neil may miss as few as two weeks while Draffin may be available this weekend.
Coach Neville Swayn praised his team’s work ethic and ability to adjust to the changing conditions of the game.
“We really pride ourselves on finishing games strongly, and it was the same on Saturday night,” he said.
“In the first 15 minutes of the second quarter we allowed Terang Mortlake to dictate terms, but to the boys’ credit they got that back in the last 10 minutes, which gave us some momentum going into the second half.
“I was really pleased with how we were able to basically control the last quarter.”
Swayn said he was pleased with the way his players stuck to the game plan and executed their roles.
“We worked really well around stoppages and we gave ourselves plenty of forward entries,” he said.
“Our mids had really good ball use through the middle of the ground, and that helped us swing that momentum back when we needed to.
“We’ve got a very different back six to what we’ve had the last few years, but they held really well and all played their roles.
“I was really happy with how we were able to adjust when weneeded to.”
Camperdown travels to South Warrnambool this Saturday, where the Roosters will likely provide an even stiffer challenge.
“It’s going to be a big ask, they’re always hard to beat at South,” Swayn said.
“We played really well against them last year in the two games we had, so we give ourselves a massive chance.
“But they’re a much different side (to Terang Mortlake), they’re very tall in their front half and they’ll try to stretch us.
“It’ll just come down to execution under pressure and how we can limit their forward entries with their tall forwards.”
In other Hampden League games last week Warrnambool went down at home to Portland, North Warrnambool had a 200-point victory over Port Fairy, South Warrnambool won at Cobden, and Koroit defeated Hamilton by 88 points.