By Marcus Uhe
A late push from Noble Park fell just short of upsetting reigning premiers Rowville and snapping a five-game losing streak in the process in the Eastern Football Netball League on Saturday afternoon.
Training by 18 points at the final break, the Bulls kicked three goals to Rowville’s one in the final quarter but finished three points shy in the 10.9 69 to 11.6 72 result, adding another chapter to what is becoming an emerging rivalry in the local football landscape.
The plucky Bulls kept pace with Rowville throughout the contest, with the margin no greater than 15 points in the first half, before the premiers turned on the jets with three quick majors to separate themselves in the third term.
They were the only three goals of the quarter, and set the Bulls a mighty task to overcome in the final period.
A towering Bailey Lambert mark from the first centre clearance and goal was the perfect start for the Bulls, cutting the lead to 12.
He had the chance to make it two consecutively, but quickly turned from potential hero to villain by giving away a 50-metre penalty.
The Bulls quickly whisked the ball from defence to attack and Lambert became the deepest Bull when he eventually took possession.
He looked to handball to Tom Nelson to run in for what would have been a certain goal but was wrapped up in a tackle by Hawks defender Callum Verrell, and penalised holding the ball.
A tangle with Cooper Stainthorpe and a delay in returning the ball to Verrell then saw the Hawks marched down the field for a 50-metre penalty, immediately diffusing the chaos and potential scoring opportunity.
A scrambling play from the back half then presented Nelson a chance to reduce the lead, but the first-year Bull dropped a mark at the top of the goal square under pressure from the Rowville defence.
A 15-minute scoring deadlock was broken by Rowville’s Matthew Evans, who converted a set shot form deep in the pocket to restore a 16-point buffer.
The reply from the Bulls was swift, and came from Luke Nelson, displaying textbook front-and-centre crumbing skills to cut the lead back to 10.
By now, the bulls were playing possessed, attacking through the corridor and taking risks at every tuner in order to wrestle back the lead.
The final goal was a product of exactly that – Lachlan Quaife, Luke Bull and Chris Horton-Milne combined from the back pocket through the heart of the corridor, resulting in Josh Stern goal, and a three-point margin in the 24th minute.
Jackson Sketcher won the next centre clearance and sent the ball deep inside 50, but Lambert was penalised for a kick in danger in a scramble at the top of the square.
The dying stages were chaotic, with stoppages, rushed kicks, a stunning mask from Rowville’s Nashua Wood and desperation as far as the eye could see.
The siren sounded as Ben Marson gathered a ground ball 40 metres out and eyed off chance at a win at the death, but the kick never came, as players slumped to the ground in exhaustion.
Stern finished with four goals for the Bulls as their leading goal kicker, with young Jacob Noble joining Sketcher and Nathan Noblett in the Bulls’ best players.
It’s now six losses in a row for the Bulls, falling to seventh on the Premier Division ladder.
Doncaster East awaits in round 10, who the Bulls downed by 10 points in round one.
