Kane McKenzie fires a handball out from a congested stopage. 67272 Picture: Emily Lane
By Liam Twomey
MARIBYRNONG Park has shot to top spot on the Essendon District Football League ladder after defeating Craigieburn in a tough encounter by 17 points.
The Lions were slow out of the blocks, missing a number of chances in front of goal in the first quarter, while the straight shooting Eagles made the most of their opportunities.
Former Carlton forward, Lance Whitnall, looked dangerous for Craigieburn, kicking an early goal and helping to set up another as the home team jumped out to an eight-point lead at the first break.
Things looked to be going from bad to worse for Maribyrnong when ruckman, Chris Stewart, rolled his ankle in the middle of the ground and was forced to leave the field.
He returned to the forward line late in the first quarter, but was restricted to playing within 30 metres of goal for the rest of the match.
The injury proved a blessing in disguise for the Lions as Stewart took control of the forward line and booted two goals instantly, on his way to six for the day. The move ultimately proved the difference between the sides in the 12.6 (78) to 13.17 (95) victory.
Maribyrnong coach, Craig Clinnick, was impressed with the efforts of his injured star.
“The only reason Stewart was forward was because he rolled his ankle early in the ruck. He is a dominant big man, anyone who has Ang Christou moved off them at this level of footy suggests that they are playing some decent footy.”
Despite dominating certain parts of the match, the Lions were unable to shake their opponents throughout the day. The lead was never more than 20 points, and even with less than five minutes to go, the Eagles looked capable of causing an upset.
“Craigieburn are a good side, they will beat sides in the run home,” Clinnick said. “They got away to a good start. They had a couple of breaks early.
“After quarter time, we really started to control the footy and it was much more of what we expect.
“We really tried to shut them down at the stoppages. Blokes like Davies, Lekkas and a couple of other blokes who are just dangerous. They get forward of the footy and Brooks was giving them good use.
We knew we were going to be in for a big game today and to win it was fantastic.”
The win is the first time the Lions have won back to back matches since round seven after they easily accounted for Doutta Stars last week.
“Today for us was always going to be a really important game,”Clinnick said. “It was important we strung together back-to-back wins and it was important we improved on the internal measures we have at the footy club, which we did.
“For us, it’s about working in pairs, structure, stoppage work, forward entries and rebound stops. All those things we did much better today.”
With the congestion at the top end of the EDFL ladder reaching fever pitch, the fight for top spot is only going to intensify over the coming weeks. Maribyrnong Park, Strathmore and Aberfeldie are all locked on nine wins each while just one game behind them are Oak Park and Greenvale.
