Sport
Cats and Hawks inseparable in see-sawing round 10 battle
Lockington-Bamawm United and Huntly locked horns and couldn’t let go in round 10 of Heathcote District Football League action, with both teams walking away with a split share at Strauch Reserve.
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Despite both teams ending dead even, the game didn’t begin that way, as the Hawks (1.7) came out the gate slightly stronger than the Cats (1.3).
The second period belonged to the visitors, who piled on a five-goal flurry to not just take the lead, but establish a 12-point advantage at the major break.
However, LBU continued its trend of taking the foot off the gas in the third term when it was unable to kick a goal, settling for a quartet of behinds.
This left the door ajar for Huntly which not only got its foot in, but walked straight through by kicking 3.3 and bringing the contest back in its favour.
With the Cats’ deficit sitting at one goal entering the final quarter, the visitors responded strongly down the stretch.
Not only did LBU’s defence hold the Hawks to 2.2, but its attack got on the board throughout the fourth quarter.
With time almost up, LBU’s ruckman Tyler Phillips took a clutch mark to either draw level or win the game for the Cats after the final siren.
Unfortunately, Phillips wasn’t able to slot the winner, but was able to get one final minor on the board for his side and prevent it from losing a tight contest with a top-two team.
For LBU coach Jayden Howe, those last-gasp heroics were more than enough.
“I’m not fussed that ‘T-Bone’ (Phillips) didn’t kick that goal, we had 10 points for the day and if any of those had’ve been goals we would’ve won,” he said.
“If he (Phillips) didn’t take that mark before the siren we would’ve lost by a point, so you can’t win without opportunity and he gave us that opportunity, so we will take the draw.
“We were pleased with the result and thought that our structures held up really well, particularly against a team higher on the ladder.
“To match it with a team that sits near the top and have won four games in a row, I thought was a great result for us.”
Howe highlighted some of LBU’s major contributors in the contest and reflected on his side’s current standing as the back half of the season progresses.
“Bart Phillips and Jeremy Mundie linked up well, especially in the second quarter. They both had a great game and gave Bart four goals which put us in the lead at half-time,’’ he said.
“Matt Hore played a great game at key back and Bowden Stone, a young kidm played well in the middle.
“We are sitting in sixth place on the ladder in a positive position and we’ve got some key players coming back over the next few weeks, so we are excited about the back end of the season and games like that show we have the talent and structure to match it with those top teams.
“We finished second last on the ladder last season and this year we have a team with less experience and we are still matching it with these top teams, so we are taking that as a huge positive.”
The Cats will look to take it to another heavyweight in round 11, when they travel to Toolleen Recreation Reserve to face Mount Pleasant.
Elmore vs North Bendigo
The Bloods were no match for the league leaders as the Bulldogs racked up a big score in a 29.13 (187) to 7.5 (47) win at Elmore Recreation Reserve.
North Bendigo played Elmore out of the game in the first half.
A sublime 9.0 first quarter was followed by 8.5 in the second as the Bulldogs piled on 107 points before the main break to the Bloods’ 26.
Dylan Klemm cashed in on his opportunities, booting six majors, while teammates Jake Dean and Nicholas Waterson followed with four each.
Liam Bianco and James Harney had two apiece for Elmore.
Elmore travels to White Hills this weekend.
Mount Pleasant vs Heathcote
Heathcote played above its station as the league’s winless side, but Mount Pleasant held off the Saints at Barrack Reserve.
The mighty Mounts were about a goal better than Heathcote in each of the first two quarters, leading by 13 at half-time.
Mount Pleasant extended that lead in the third, but the Saints came back to win the fourth quarter and go down by just 16 points, 18.9 (117) to 15.11 (101).
Adam Baird kicked five goals to lead Mount Pleasant, while Dylan Johnstone and Ibrahim Taha were Heathcote’s best with three each.
Mount Pleasant will host LBU on Saturday.
Leitchville-Gunbower vs White Hills
While White Hills may have won the big prize last year, it has struggled in 2025, whereas Leitchville-Gunbower has capitalised, taking the Demons down for the second time this season in round 10 of Heathcote District Football League.
The Bombers improved on their round one victory against White Hills, taking the defending champion down by 53 points in their second encounter of the season.
Blake Dye’s five-goal bag and Billy Hawken’s four-goal haul headlined L-G’s impressive attacking efforts.
The 18.10 (118) to 10.5 (65) victory pushed L-G into fifth position with a 4-4-1 record and a date with second-placed Huntly on the horizon in round 11.