By TOBIE CHAPMAN
ABERFELDIE have got another win on the board, but found the going tougher than they might have expected against a determined West Coburg.
Aberfeldie jumped out early, dominating the scoring in the first quarter.
They kicked 3.3 to West Coburg’s 1.0, and it appeared that it might be a familiar sort of day for the reigning premiers.
The second term was a much more even contest however, both sides kicking three goals with the margin sitting at 16 points at the major break.
The third quarter was all one-way traffic for Aberfeldie, as they took control of the game. They piled on seven goals to two for the term, with three late goals finally breaking the game open to go into the final break with a comfortable 52-point lead.
Abers will be disappointed with their accuracy though, as they kicked eight points for the term, and the game should have been over much earlier.
The Burgers bounced back for a strong last term, kicking five goals to none.
Again though, much of this was due to Aberfeldie’s horrible inaccuracy as they missed a remarkable seven shots without a goal in the quarter.
Despite their inaccuracy, Aberfeldie still came away with a 28-point win.
Abers appear to still be struggling to recapture their impressive form from last season, but despite a fairly scrappy win and inaccurate kicking there were positive signs.
Some of their key players are beginning to have strong contributions once more, forward Kyle Reimers kicking three goals, as did midfielder Brock McLean.
Their forward line continues to be versatile and dangerous, and they’re finding a good spread of goal kickers.
Zach Hislop, Nicholas Cattapan and Andrew Kefford are hitting the scoreboard on a fairly regular basis, which doesn’t bode well for opposition defences.
Josh Toy was impressive last week against Avondale Heights in the backline, and followed it up with another strong performance.
West Coburg had reason to be pleased with their performance though, as despite the large margin they continued to fight hard and found reward on the scoreboard.
Danko Bzenic was impressive as he kicked four goals to be the Burgers’ sole multiple goal-kicker.
With the exception of a heavy loss to Keilor in Round 2, West Coburg played some good football and are definitely an improved side from last year.
Last year they lost to Aberfeldie by 134 points and 91 points, and although Abers are nowhere near the form they were in last year, to only lose by 28 points is a good sign.
Aberfeldie | 13.22-100
Goal Kickers: K. Reimers 3, B. McLean 3, Z. Hislop 2, N. Cattapan 2, A. Kefford, A. Grigg, J. Laurie
Best Players: J. Toy, J. Laurie, R. Allan, B. McLean, Z. Hislop, D. Thompson
West Coburg | 11.6-72
Goal Kickers: D. Bzenic 4, T. Baravi, S. MacAodha, A. Kelly, C. Conlon, T. McMillan, M. Saad, A. Fitaax
Best Players: T. Baravi, A. Fitaax, D. Lucas, T. McMillan, J. Yelland, A. Saad
