Garfield still the one to beat

By Ken Moore
COMPETITION leader Garfield maintained its undefeated record after a gritty 24-point away victory over local rival and fellow premiership aspirant Cora Lynn on Saturday.
The end margin did not represent the evenness of the game, as the match was up for grabs midway through the last quarter before the visitors conjured up the last four goals.
The Stars’ late goal surge came out of nowhere, because they were outplayed for a good deal of the second half. Only four goals were kicked by three-quarter-time, which made the Stars’ late goal spree all the more incredible.
The low-scoring game was largely caused by the Cora Lynn ground, which was in terrible condition, muddy all over and waterlogged in parts after nearly 20mm of rain overnight.
The home side fired the opening salvo when Mornington recruit Ryan Gillis kicked the first goal, off the ground and from close in. But from then on, Garfield got into stride, found far more of the ball but had little to show for it with five behinds to go into the quarter-time break down two points.
Early in the second quarter, the Stars snatched the lead when Luke Bee-Hugo found space and showed a touch of class to drill through a major.
Cora Lynn regained the lead mid-term, with a goal by Hampton Park recruit Brady White after a chain of good teamwork.
Fifteen minutes into the quarter Jim Bow displayed his opportunist best with a well-executed kick of the ground to restore the lead for the Stars.
Aside from a melee, which saw Cora Lynn’s Matt Robinson and Stars youngster Dylan Collis sent from the field for 15 minutes, little happened in the later stages of the quarter and the visitors went into the main break with a handy eight-point advantage.
Cora Lynn attacked relentlessly in the third quarter but did not convert its possessions into goals and went into the final break four points behind.
While the Stars never posed a goal scoring threat in the third quarter they got numbers behind the ball and cluttered up the Cobras’ scoring opportunities.
Ten minutes elapsed in the last quarter with both sides scoring only a point each before the well-performed Marchetti steered through a goal to give the home side a two-point advantage.
The Stars clawed back two points to level the scores at the midway mark of the term and then out of nowhere it produced goals, seemingly against the tide, by Nick Marsh, two from Bow and another by Mal McKenna to seal what turned out to be a comfortable win on the scoreboard.
Garfield showed why it is going to be hard to beat this season. When it did not control play it produced enough pluck to bottle up play and stop Cora Lynn from making any headway.
Coach Brent Eastwell was in the thick of the action all game and lent terrific support to Shane Reid, Rick Kamphuis, Damian Rhind and Shane Reid, who all played measured games in defence.
Ruck-rovers Ben Marsh and Phil Burns rushed in where others feared, Brett Reid was a good target across the half-forward line and ruckman Tom Marsh put his body on the line several times.
“It could have gone either way, but I was pleased with the character we showed when the game was in the balance,” Eastwell said.
Cora Lynn cannot be too disappointed, because it went in underdogs and made a fair fist of things.
Jack Allen bored in for the ball against his former club and was the pick of the Cobras. Beaconsfield recruit Sean Marchetti was outstanding in the first half and behind the centre Michael Duiker and coach Brendan Kimber offered tremendous drive.
Rover Brady White, ruckman Brad Horaczko, wingman James Bradshaw and Matt Robinson all caught the eye at various stages.
“You can’t win a game against a top side like Garfield if you don’t put in a good four-quarter effort,” said disconsolate Cobra coach Brendan Kimber.
The Cobras have now slipped to sixth on the ladder and are under pressure from four teams, led by Neerim Neerim South and Longwarry, all within four points and striking distance to displace them from the top six, should they lose to Bunyip this week.