Orbost Snowy Rovers were soundly beaten by Boisdale Briagolong in round four of the East Gippsland Football Netball League at the Cabbage Patch last Saturday.
The Blues went into the game high on confidence after outclassing Paynesville the previous week, but were facing a Bomber outfit still stung from a loss to Lakes Entrance seven days earlier.
Both sides were missing key players, with Max Welsh and Byron Vickery unavailable for the visitors, while Kelvin Porter and Tom Jolly were among several notable omissions for the premiership contenders.
The Bombers were back to their brutal best early, closing the Blues down in the first half and restricting Orbost to just a solitary goal, while opening up a 29-point advantage by half time.
Matt Wilkinson was among the key contributors, finishing with four goals for the winners, while creative forward Josh Davis and hard-running co-coach Kade Renooy kicked two each.
Orbost Snowy is a side that generally performs well at Boisdale Recreation Reserve, but on this occasion it was unable to gain any momentum with the home side appearing one step ahead across the ground.
The third quarter provided the most even contest of the match, with the Blues lifting to challenge the Bombers as the game briefly became an arm wrestle, although Boisdale still held a 30-point lead at the final change.
The shackles came off in the final term, with the game opening up into a shootout. Orbost Snowy kicked five goals to four but ultimately went down by 28 points in a performance that showed patches of promise but lacked four-quarter consistency.
While the Blues demonstrated at times they can match it with the competition benchmark, they were left to rue a poor first half against a genuine premiership contender.
Tom Smith kicked three goals for the Blues, with Kieran Vickery finishing with two. They were among the better players alongside onballer Gus Rogers, Max Herbert in his first game of the season, key defender Curtley Nettleton, Daniel Martin and Braeden Ross. Martin loomed as an emerging talent, booting three goals in the thirds earlier in the day.
For Boisdale Briagolong, Davis continued to impress in his first season with his ball use and creativity a feature. Young Will Moon bounced back from a tough outing against Lakes Entrance, while Jackson Glenane, Rhys Johnson, Matthew Wilkinson and Zak Harrigan were solid four-quarter contributors.
Orbost Snowy Rovers will be looking to rebound when they host Stratford at Lochiel Park this Saturday, with the Swans also seeking improvement after a disappointing loss to Paynesville last week.
