By Marcus Uhe
The fortunes of Noble Park’s season are going from bad to worse, with the Bulls’ now winless in their last eight matches in the Eastern Football Netball League.
Saturday’s 36-point loss to South Croydon now has the Bulls three games and a percentage gap of 43 outside the top six, making a run at a second premiership in three years appear all the more unlikely.
The 4.5 29 to 9.10 64 loss featured a promising start but dismal second and third quarter in which just a single behind was scored in two quarters of football in wet conditions at Cheong Park.
Popular small forward Kevin Kean put the Bulls on the board early in his 150th game in Bulls colours, and debutant Jordan McDonnell added a second for the visitors to take a 10-point lead into the first break.
McDonnell’s goal in the 22nd minute, however, would be Noble Park’s last until Lachlan McDonnell’s in the ninth minute of the final term, with over an hour of gameplay elapsing inbetween.
Between Bulls goals, South Croydon controlled the game with six of their own.
Shallow forward 50 entries failed to yield Noble Park scoring opportunities, and the absence of Bailey Lambert meant the Bulls lacked a consistent goal scoring threat ahead of the ball.
Nathan Noblett, who kicked 15 goals in 18 last year, his first at the Bullring, has moved to the defensive half of the ground, while Kyle Martin has missed the last three matches, and leaves a huge hole in the middle.
Steady rain, meanwhile, proved detrimental to the players’ ball handling abilities, and resulted in a heavy playing surface, making moving the ball to be a difficult task.
The ball spent much of the second term in the Bulls’ defensive half, with a lack of height ahead the ball robbing them of direction when going forward.
As a result, short kicks attempting to pierce their way through the South Croydon defence on a wet day brought them unstuck time and time again, with balls continually intercepted by the South Croydon backs.
Jackson Sketcher, Liam Scott and Logan Young were among the Bulls’ best players, as was Anthony Marson.
A comfortable percentage gap and eight premiership points remain between the Bulls and the dreaded bottom two, as well as Doncaster East in eighth, but there’s no doubt that the ladder position is too close to comfort for Steve Hughes’ side.
The Bulls welcome Berwick to Pat Wright Senior Oval on Saturday in what presents as an ideal opportunity to snag a first home win of the campaign.
Round three’s 73-point win over the Wickers was the last time the Bulls sung the team song, back in April.
