It was a tale of two halves for the Murray Bushrangers girls on Sunday afternoon, as they bounced back from an 18-point half-time deficit to run away with a spirited 8.6 (54) to 7.5 (47) win over winless Gippsland Power at Highgate Recreation Reserve.
Missing stars Keeley Skepper, Cassidy Mailer, Madison Gray and Grace Hay due to Victoria Country commitments, a new cast of characters stepped up for the Bushies in the second half, with Shepparton United’s Molly Kennedy particularly impressive after being thrown into a number of roles.
Murray Bushrangers coach Mark Brown said it was good to see the girls respond after a dismal first half.
“It was a very poor start from our girls, all credit to Gippsland who brought the type of intensity you’d expect from a side searching for their first win and we certainly didn’t match it,” Brown said.
“They outhustled us at the contest, spread better than we did, were better at the fundamentals of the game and completely outclassed us in the opening half and deserved their lead.
“But to our girls’ credit they heard some home truths at half-time and responded and played a much better brand of football in the second half.”
One of the major catalysts to the Bushies’ fightback was the move of Kennedy from the ruck to a key post down back to limit the influence of Power star Ash Centra.
Racking up 15 disposals and laying seven tackles, the United export thrived with the greater responsibility and inspired the girls around her in the second half as the Bushies piled on six goals to two.
With so many key personnel missing, Brown said it was fantastic to see girls like Kennedy stand up and will the team to victory.
“There is no doubt it leaves a gap in our side (missing those star players), but we’d like to think we have enough to cover off which we showed,” he said.
“We made a couple of positional changes after half-time which proved pivotal in the end, Molly Kennedy going back after the first half in the ruck was particularly important as she shut down Ash Centra who caused us issues early on.
“Once Molly went back there, she curbed her influence really well and probably turned the game in our favour.”