Mark Marriott was among the best for Benalla in the win over Mooroopna. Photo: Karl Phillipson.
It hasn’t been an easy road for Benalla in the Goulburn Valley League senior football competition the past few seasons, but on Saturday it showed it is made of the right – or Wright – stuff.
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Having pushed good teams to the brink on multiple occasions this season, the Saints finally broke through for their second win of the year against Mooroopna, clinching a 16.13 (109) to 13.9 (87) victory at Benalla Showgrounds, with a gun recruit once again putting his name up in lights.
Having been held to three goals across his previous two outings, Nathan Wright put on some kind of performance up forward at the weekend, booting nine majors in the most prolific individual goal-kicking performance across the league this season to help Benalla secure the win.
It was all Benalla early in a blistering start to the contest, with the Saints putting seven first-quarter goals on the board – including three from Wright — to Mooroopna’s three to enjoy a 23-point advantage at the first break.
And, while a 10-goal quarter would be considered a goal-fest, it paled in comparison to the second term, with both sides firing shots at will in a 13-goal shootout.
The Cats found their range better, however, with the visitors hitting the target on eight occasions without a miss, while Benalla’s 50 per cent strike rate of 5.5 in front of goal saw its lead dwindle to 10 points at half-time, with the scoreboard reading a remarkable 12.6 (78) to 11.2 (68) despite there being two quarters still to play.
Benalla’s Nathan Wright, pictured playing for the GVL against the O&M, booted nine goals against the Cats to climb to the top of the goal-kicking leaderboard.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Spearheads on either side were leading the charge, with Wright notching six goals in the opening half being countered by Mooroopna’s Logan Campbell at the opposite end, with the Cat having slotted five of his own to see the visitors roar back into contention, and it felt as though one of the two would have the final say on proceedings.
But the deluge of goals dried up after half-time, although the opportunities didn’t, as Mooroopna managed six behinds in the third term, while Benalla slotted 2.4 to push the margin back out to 20 points with a quarter to play.
Wright would land the first punch in the final term to give the Saints a much more comfortable 26-point advantage, but Mooroopna managed back-to-back goals through Kobie Issell and Nathan Drummond to sneak back to within 16 points and make things interesting again deep into the final term.
Once again, however, it was Wright to the fore, with the big forward slotting his final goal of the day, and the final goal of the game, to seal a 22-point triumph for the Saints, while also leaping to the top of the goal-kicker race with 32 for the season.
Wright unsurprisingly was named Benalla’s best in the win, although former Port Melbourne VFL player Guy Barnes (three goals) was impressive in his second outing for the Saints, slotting three to be included among the best.
Mark Marriott and Chris Welsh once again showed why they are considered among the upper echelon of GVL talent, going to work in the middle, while Tom O’Brien rounded out the most influential for the Saints in the win.
Benalla will look to make it consecutive wins when it takes on Shepparton United this weekend, again at the showgrounds, while Mooroopna will be looking to bounce back when it hosts Tatura at Mooroopna Recreation Reserve.
