Kyneton lifted a level in the second half to come away with a hard-fought win against arch rival Gisborne in the Bendigo Football League.
The match between the only two Macedon Ranges teams in the league has often provided some good contests, and Saturday was no different
The Bulldogs had the better of the match in the first half, before the Tigers found their form in the second half, to seal the 17.6 (108)-12.9 (81) win.
Tigers coach Luke Beattie said the local derby was a game they loved coming out on top.
“You always open the fixture when it comes out and look for that first game against Gisborne,” he said.
“Quite often the result goes the other way. It’s nice to get the job done and we’ve been able to do that a few times lately.”
Beattie said the first half wasn’t good from their perspective and they were lucky to have a one point lead at the main break.
He said the Bulldogs had been the better team to that point.
“We didn’t play to the level that was expected,” he said.
“Gisborne played the first half pretty well. Their speed and enthusiasm came to the forefront.
“They were unlucky not to be two to three goals up at half-time.”
Beattie said they had a discussion at half-time about what they valued and the reaction was exactly what the coaches were after.
The Tigers kicked eight goals to four for the quarter, to lead by 22 points at three-quarter time.
“We should have been up by eight goals at three-quarter time,” Beattie said. “Our last quarters haven’t been our best and we are building on that.
“We’re a bit inconsistent at the moment in games. It’s good to get the win.”
Chris Barry kicked three goals and was named best on ground. Josh Govan, Billy Mahony and Harrison Huntley were the other standouts for the Tigers according to Beattie. The win is the Tigers second for the season, and gives them a 2-1-1 record after the first four rounds.
Beattie said they could have quite easily been sitting 4-0, with all the new players having an impact straight away.
“There’s some poor decision making at times,” he said. “We had every right to win the first game [which was a draw].
“The game against Strathfieldsaye last round was there to win.
“It’s two or three poor decisions at the wrong time.
“We should be 3-1 at worse. We could have been 4-0.”
Meanwhile, the Bendigo Football League has announced its senior training squad for the WorkSafe AFL Victoria Community Championships.
The BFL will face Hampden Football League.
Kyneton’s Rhys Magin, Patrick McCarthy and Max O’Sullivan have been named in the squad, along with Gisborne’s Jack Reaper.
