Longwarry vs Lang Lang

A fast start ensured Longwarry returned from Caldermeade Rd with the four points, downing Lang Lang 12.12 (84) to 10.6 (66) in an interesting contest.

The Crows went into the match without coach Aaron Paxton, AJ Lees and Nick Walsh, which saw them call up 16-year-old Lachy Spinks for his senior debut and he got off to the perfect start.

Spinks laid a crunching tackle to be awarded a free kick, and, with mullet flowing in the trademark Lang Lang breeze, coolly slotted home his first goal in senior footy with his first kick, his teammates swamping him as the Crows started their afternoon with a bang.

The first quarter was a procession for the Crows and it looked like the only question would be, by how much. Jason Wells was able to get free constantly up forward, the big ground and deep pockets playing perfectly into the crafty forward’s hands.

Grant Paxton was dominant through the middle in the first term, with Lang Lang struggling to put pressure on the Crows, allowing them to waltz out of the middle at will and by midway through the first, Wells had three to his name thanks to terrific delivery from his teammates.

At quarter time, Lang Lang found themselves in deep trouble, down by 41 points. However, coach Josh Collie calmed his group and made some changes that saw great benefits.

It was a different team that came out of the huddle, as the Tigers began to win the ball at the source and find open teammates going forward, with the help of a slight breeze.

Clint Fulton, under an injury cloud, was the first to break through for Lang Lang in the second and he got on a roll, booting another just five minutes later to give the Tigers some confidence. They stemmed the flow and managed to kick four goals to one to cut the margin to 27 points at halftime, the crowd getting behind the comeback.

The third term saw Longwarry turn the game around with Wells booting his fifth and sixth major. Ben Cuckson was chopping off anything that rolled forward by the Tigers in a brilliant display across halfback and Ben McKenna was able to get out and run on the wing, the margin sitting at 39 points at the final break.

Another twist was coming. Lang Lang began to run the footy more and break the lines, kicking the final three goals of the game to bring the margin back to just three goals. A couple of misses late could have seen the game tighten, but in the end Longwarry had done enough to stave off the gallant Tiger outfit.

Jason Wells was at his brilliant best again, kicking nine goals in the victory.

Coach Aaron Paxton said the delivery inside 50 was extremely pleasing.

“We moved the footy better as a side and lowered our eyes, yes he (Wells) kicked some goals from some fifty fifties, but he was on the end of a lot of really good work in the midfield today and he finished it,” Paxton said.

Duncan Proud, who played sore was praised for his effort around the big ground, alongside Grant Paxton in a best on ground performance and Ben Cuckson’s application down back was brilliant alongside strong efforts from Jack Muirhead and Ben McKenna.

When the Tigers began rolling, Paxton said the way the side responded after last week's loss was exceptional.

“It was good to see blokes like Grant step up and others who are new, take over for a day. We’ve set that standard and everyone was happy with how the game went and how we responded,” he said.

Paxton also praised the effort of the debutant Spinks who came in to help bolster the tall stocks with Lees out of the side.

“He’s a big kid and a young kid and he has things to learn, but we just asked him to compete today, and he did that in the air and in the ruck,” Paxton said.

Riley Rundell finished the game with ice on his ankle, however Paxton said it was more precautionary, and Duncan Proud suffered a knock in the third term but was able to return to the field.

For Lang Lang, Jesse Hand, Clint Fulton and Nick Prowd all booted two in the loss, while Mitch Tribuzi, Hand, Ryan Floate, Prowd, Tyler Guan and Brad Harding all had an influence.

Despite the loss, Lang Lang coach Josh Collie was happy with his sides’ effort but lamented the effort in the first term.

“We fought back and I’m really pleased with the boys' effort. When we took the game on we were really good, when we played slow footy we gave them a run at it.

The Tigers will be looking for more consistency, Collie acknowledging the importance of a strong week.

“It’s massive for us. We’ve had weeks where our Tuesdays and Thursdays are ripper, but we’ve had ones that were horrible too. If we drop off on the training track, the results won’t show for us,” Collie said.

Fulton finished the game on the bench injured and will miss some time, while Andy Thompson did a hamstring adding to the injury list for Lang Lang, but overall, Collie said he’s proud of how the team fought it out against one of the league’s best.

“Years gone by, we would have thrown it in, but we stuck to what we train for and they’re backing the system in, we’ll just crack in again next week and hopefully get a result,” he said.

It’ll be the big grand final rematch between Longwarry and Ellinbank, while Lang Lang will look to get back on the winner’s list when they travel to Yarragon.