Tara Murray
A makeshift forward line proved dangerous for Romsey in the second half of its win against the Melton Centrals in the Riddell District Football League.
With a number of their forward line out injured, the Redbacks coaching staff threw the magnets to try and find the right combination.
After a slow start, the Redbacks were able to run away with a comfortable, 12.9 (81)-6.9 (45) win.
Redbacks coach Paul Kennedy said long term injuries had meant they were going to have to get creative to find their goals.
“We’ve ben hit har the last few weeks,” he said.
“Jack Jedwab, Ben Way, Nathan Rayment and James Carroll are all out. They’re all in our forward line.
“Kane Brinkhuis is a young defender who is out too. They’re all five to six weeks away.
“We went to Melton with a very different forward line. It took a while to come together, but the second half we looked dangerous. We had nine individual goal kickers which was pleasing.”
Centrals led by one point at half time, after controlling much of the second quarter.
After the main break, the Redbacks kicked eight goals to two to get the win.
“The message was to stay positive,” Kennedy said. “It was about sticking to the process and we were able to run away with it in the end.”
Aaron Paterson kicked three goals for the Redbacks.
Corey Pertzel and Michael Tinkler were among those to get on the scoreboard after being thrown forward.
Kennedy said Matthew Burkett was clearly the best player on the ground.
The win brings the Redbacks season back to 3-3 after a tough start.
Kennedy said if luck had have gone their way they could have easily had a couple more wins on the board.
“We could have been 6-1,” he said. “We had a one point loss to Diggers Rest and lost to Riddell by six points.
“The last few weeks have been solid. We feel confident playing those sides, that we’re not out of our depth once we get a healthy list back.”
The Redbacks this week face Woodend-Hesket in an important match with both teams chasing top five spots.
Kennedy though will be missing for that game and the following one, as he heads overseas for a couple of weeks for a wedding.
In other results, Diggers Rest was too good for Lancefield, wining 30.14 (194)-2.2 (14). Mitchell Day kicked 11 goals and Mitchell Jensen kicked 10 goals.
Riddell was too strong for the Western Rams, winning 18.18 (126)-3.1 (19).
Macedon won an important contest with Woodend-Hesket, winning 9.6 (60)-6.5 (41).
