Bulldogs hit the ‘Gas’ in KDL blowout

The stars of the show were two former Kyabram reserve grade players who are now making a name for themselves at senior level in the Kyabram district competition.

Jake Gascoyne, who joined the Bulldogs this year from Kyabram after kicking 10 goals in three finals rounds to end his GVL reserve grade season, kicked seven goals.

He ended his Kyabram season with 27 goals from 15 games, but in his four games with Merrigum has already put 13 goals on the board.

Gascoyne has always had the ability to kick goals, as a teenager he kicked 54 goals in 19 goals in 2015.

He and Wild, who kicked his second six-goal bag of the season, were the go-to players for a dominant defence and mid-field.

Wild also has 13 goals for the season, from three games in the key forward post.

He finished last season with nine goals from his 10 senior games and is another player to have spent a majority of his time playing reserves football.

He spent time with Tongala reserves, but his best return was 12 goals from 11 goals five years ago.

While Gascoyne is brand new to the senior football scene, Wild did have a brief appearance at senior Murray league level.

Both, however, seem to have found their groove in the tri-colours of the Bulldogs.

While the two forwards were great players, arguably the three best Bulldogs were in defence. Co-coach Darcy Collins, captain Zak Parkinson and Brad Taylor form a strong back end, which was coach Leigh Hall’s plan at the start of the season.

Merrigum led by 27 points at quarter-time, by 63 at half-time and with 31 scoring shots to seven at three-quarter time, by a massive 79 points.

They now have two wins from four games, against Violet Town on Saturday and in the opening round of the season against Rushworth.

They have a winnable match with Longwood coming up after a bye this weekend, before coming up against back-to-back premier Lancaster.

In round two the Bulldogs lost to Nagambie by 78 points and a week later were beaten by 144 points by finals bound Murchison-Toolamba.

– Girgarre has broken its duck for 2024 and is now only one game outside the top six, in ninth position, after four games of Kyabram district league football.

Longwood and Undera remain the two teams that are yet to win a game, which makes their round 11 match one of particular interest.

The Kangaroos won the game in fine style, accurate kicking leading it to a 57-point win — 16.7 (103) to Rushworth’s 6.10 (46).

It took Girgarre until the final term to break completely clear of the Tigers, leading by 22 points at quarter-time and by 33 at half-time.

It held a 36-point advantage at the final break before kicking six goals straight in the last to put an exclamation mark on the contest.

Charles Lowe, Joe Jackson and Steven Phillips, all members of Lancaster’s dominant reserve grade team last season, were key players in the win.

Lowe kicked two goals, Phillips kicked three and Jackson held down a key defensive post in the round four victory.

Vice-captain Brock Pierce and the sure-handed Ethan Palma-Ludeman both kicked two goals in the win as the Kangaroos found multiple avenues to goal.

Palma-Ludeman is in his second season with Girgarre, having arrived from Kyabram where he kicked 32 goals in 20 games in season 2022.

Last year he kicked 25 goals in 15 games for the Kangaroos.

Fleet-footed Joshua Wheeler was again a star for Girgarre, which was without its major playmaker Ryan Butler for the weekend. He has a broken finger.

The Kangaroos have two very tough assignments in the coming fortnight (May 18 and 22), facing grand finalists of the last two seasons — Nagambie and Murchison-Toolamba.

They then have some respite against similarly ranked teams Girgarre and Longwood before confronting Lancaster on June 22.

– The stage is set for an early season blockbuster in a fortnight after Lancaster won its fourth straight game against Nagambie on Sunday.

On Saturday, May 18 (after their bye next weekend) the Wombats will face the only other unbeaten team in the competition — Murchison-Toolamba.

By the time the two clubs play both will be expected to have four wins to their credit — the Grasshoppers play Longwood this weekend — making it a mouth-watering prospect for the region’s football fans.

Lancaster won its match with Nagambie by 36 points on Sunday, but faces a daunting prospect when it confronts its 2022 grand final opponent.

Murchison-Toolamba has won its first three games by 130, 104 and 144 points — against Nagambie, Violet Town and Merrigum.

Lancaster jumped its opponent on Sunday and only inaccurate kicking kept Nagambie in the game.

The Wombats kicked 3.8 in the first quarter and led by 25 points.

Both teams kicked four goals straight in the second term and the margin remained the same, but a five-goal to three final half saw the Wombats extend the eventual margin to six goals — winning 12.12 (84) to 7.6 (48).

Nine of the Wombats 12 goals came from three of its stars — two time grand final best player Cameron Simpson, captain Charlie Mclay and reigning best-and-fairest Zac Cerrone — who all kicked three goals.

Cerrone already has 15 goals to his name this season, bags of six and five to match Sunday’s three goals, putting him on track to match last year’s 43-goal season.

Stand in ruckman Coby O’Neill continued to perform in the absence of Nick Ryan, while Logan Demasi played his best game of the season and youngster Riley Williams also had an impact.

Lancaster is continuing to perform while not being at full strength, finding inspiration in the work of promoted players like Daniel Foley.

Foley never played a senior game last season, but hasn’t missed this year.

The Wombats welcomed back Simpson, experienced defender Phil Carroll and Lachlan Boscarini for the game on Sunday — their poise making a difference to the transition from defence to attack.