It was disappointment for the Orbost Snowy Rovers, losing both the reserves and thirds fixtures against Lindenow in round 12 of the East Gippsland Football Netball League at the Lindenow Recreation Reserve last Saturday.
The reserves had played some good football in recent matches, with victories over Paynesville and Stratford seeing them move back into the top four, but their reign was short lived, the Cats leapfrogging them with a hard-fought 22-point victory.
The tricky wind made play difficult
and scoring almost impossible at times, but both sides persisted and had some productive periods.
The Cats controlled play for most of the first half, opening up a handy 14-point advantage by the main break, but after an inspiring speech from coach Andrew Kenny, the Blues played their best football of the match in the third term with the breeze.
The Cats were keep scoreless by Orbost, who would be left to rue their inaccuracy, 1.5 for the term, seeing it close within three points, but three unanswered final term majors from the home side, quickly saw the game slip away.
Hayden Mitchell, Tim Findley, Cody Robertson, Noah Szabatura, Lachlan Osborn and Jake Humphreys were all solid contributors for the Blues.
Szabatura, a former Maffra junior has improved each week after commencing with the Blues mid season.
The thirds clash was an outstanding match, with the third-rated Blues showing they are more than capable of matching it with the the top two sides (Lakes Entrance
and Lindenow).
The lead fluctuated throughout the
afternoon, with the scores all tied up at three quarter time.
With the match on the line in the final term, the ball went up and down the ground with urgency, Lindenow holding on to win by two points after maximising its opportunities in the final term kicking 1.1 while the Blues were restricted to five behinds.
Despite losing, the Blues know their best could well be good enough for back-to-back premiership glory, but they will need for the ball to bounce right on the day.
Angus Joiner kicked three goals for Orbost, with the better players being Jack Barnes, Finn Donnellan, Andrew Robinson, Tye Robinson, Jet Kane and Thomas Macalister.
Orbost Snowy Rovers will host Lucknow this week at Lochiel Park.
