A courageous ten-point victory will see the Port Magpies into third position as the midway mark of the North Coast AFL season looms.
With the week off this coming weekend, the severely depleted Magpies held on against a fast-finishing Nambucca at Stuarts Park on Saturday to win 13.8 (86) to 12.4 (76).
Magpie coach Scott Payne admitted that tight games such as the past two weeks weigh heavily on his nerves, but he was nonetheless pleased to be on the winning side of the result this week.
“After such a close game against the Swans, it was good to hold on and beat Nambucca and the win did show some character from players stepping up,” Payne said.
Despite the addition of key forward Matt Newton, the Magpies had eight key first graders sidelined, including Captain Shannon Skreja, Ben and Luke Hutchins, Damon Munt, Jesse Schmidt, Ben Manton, Dylan Rumble and Stewart Todd.
Payne himself threw on the boots and added some much-needed spark to the Settlers Inn Magpies centre thrust along with the in-form Liam Carroll.
“He’s a bit of a 40/20, young Liam — he has the body and fitness of a 20-year-old, but he is playing with the class, toughness and experience of a 40-year-old veteran,” Payne said.
The pair were fed the ball all day by stand-in ruckman Dean Nankivell who showed great versatility to provide a contest all day and all around the ground.
Greg Dean was his usual classy self in the back half and was well supported by Ben Dunlop who returned solidly, and Justin Bartlett who made his presence felt off the bench. Despite the wet and slippery conditions under foot, and the hot and humid environment, Newton again benefitted from good service and slotted five goals in a season that is going from strength to strength.
Clayton Miechel was also strong and is improving each game, while Beau Hawtin and Ryan Horton made significant contributions in returning to the top grade.
Payne urged his players to make the effort to get to both training sessions this week despite the long weekend bye, and he also urged the players to draw heart from the victory. “We were far from perfect today but there was a lot of good to come out of it and it is good for those that might be on the comeback trail to know there is some healthy competition for spots,” he said.
GOALS: Matt Newton 5; Jim Connell 3; Matt Lill, Beau Hawtin, Dean Nankivell, Den Dunlop, Clayton Miechel 1.
In the Under 18s, an outstanding performance from Ben Cutler helped lift his side after a slow start to eventually record an 11-goal win for the young Magpies. Cutler’s work around the packs and stoppages has been one of the highlights for the Norco Milk Under 18s and coach Craig Carroll says he plays well above his weight.
Benefitting from Cutler’s possessions was Liam Carroll who maintained his big hauls for season 2011 with a seven goal effort.
Jack Tate was workman-like upon his return and dominated across half-back while Conor Haswell once again racked up the possessions.
Mason Mozeley kicked a rare goal in the victory, Rhys Poidevin and Brayden Kennedy continued to impress, while Kyle Lynch suited up for the opposition and was amongst their best players. It was a strong test for the undefeated 18s who were only up by a goal at quarter time.
GOALS: Liam Carroll 7; Darren Bourke 3; Alex Gillman 2; Mason Mozeley, Tyson Wiegold, Conor Haswell and Brayden Kennedy 1.
The CSR Magpies Reserves had the bye and the entire NCAFL competition takes a break this Saturday due to the long weekend.
