By Marcus Uhe
Noble Park’s winning run to begin the Eastern Football Netball League (EFNL) season continued on Saturday thanks to a commanding 73-point win over Berwick at Edwin Flack Reserve.
A tight first half which finished with Berwick only eight points behind the Bulls went brilliantly for the visitors who kicked all 11 goals of the second half to power home 19.8 122 to 7.7 49, moving the Bulls into second on the EFNL Premier Division ladder only behind ladder leaders, Rowville, on percentage.
Berwick kicked its final goal of the contest 29 minutes into the second quarter, one that saw sides trade majors for 30 minutes in an even display.
From that point onwards, however, the Bulls shut the gate.
Young star Tom Bower got the ball rolling in the second half with a goal in the first minute, and recruit Jack Mullen stretched the lead to 21 after he was crunched in a marking contest in the sixth minute.
Bower kicked his second on the run shortly after, showcasing the immense talent in the teenage star, as Noble Park quickly put a gap between themselves and the hosts.
By the time the Bulls allowed a Berwick shot on goal in the third term, they had slammed on five of their own in the first 15 minutes of the half.
The Bulls found free players in the forward 50 with ease, as Joshua Stern made it seven goals in 21 minutes late in the quarter.
Mullen received a yellow card for crunching an unsuspecting Berwick opponent from behind in the opening stages of the final term, but that did little to stem the flow of goals at the Bulls’ end.
Another four in the final quarter saw them crack the 100-point barrier, and maintain an unblemished record in the process.
Four players, in Stern, Mullen, Ben Marson and Nathan Noblett, kicked three each for the Bulls in a spread of nine individual goalkickers, while their miserly defence maintains its status as the best in the competition through three rounds.
A powerhouse of previous years, in Vermont, comes to Pat Wright Senior Oval next week to tackle the Bulls, eager to break through for a maiden win in 2024.
