In their round 13 Goulburn Valley League football clash at Moon Oval on Saturday afternoon, the Benalla Saints fell to the Rochester Tigers with a final score of 6.9 (45) to 12.10 (82), a final margin of 37 points.
The first quarter was an arm wrestle, with both teams having an equal four shots on goal, but it was Rochester that took advantage, kicking 2.2 compared to an inaccurate Saints outfit, only managing 0.4 at the first break. As the second quarter unfolded, the Tigers began to kick away, kicking three of the first four goals of the term. But the Saints held on, able to kick the last goal of the term, to find themselves trailing by just 16 points at the half-time siren.
“In every game, teams will get a run on, especially the good ones,” injured player/coach Jarrad Waite said.
“Our message was that it’s always going to happen, and one or two goals are acceptable, but the three, four, and five are where we need to shut it down. We keep pressuring and get the game back on our terms.”
The Tigers kicked the first goal of the third term, but it was all Benalla from there. The Saints kicked four of the next five goals, as the home team started to sweat, the margin was brought back to just 11 points with a quarter to go, and the game was well and truly still there to be won.
“It was a really good three-quarter effort by us. We came out of the blocks really strongly and pressured really well. Rochester is a great side, and we knew it would be important to finish off the work,” Waite said.
With the game in the balance, unfortunately for Benalla, their efforts to mount a comeback were thwarted by a resilient Rochester side. The Tigers added another 4.3 to their tally, thanks in part to a standout five-goal performance from Will Hamilton. Benalla, on the other hand, could only muster a single point, a testament to Rochester’s defensive structure and its continued improvement shown throughout the year.
“They’re (Rochester) top three or four for a reason,” Waite said.
“They flexed, but we still defended really well; it was just our inability to finish off the game. We ended the game without anyone on the bench (due to injury); we just ran out of legs.”
Despite the loss, there were plenty of bright spots for Benalla. Jordan Wolff and Tyler McGregor were described as “outstanding” by Waite, while Nathan Hill was the highlight up forward. With an 11-2 record and Rochester sitting comfortably in third spot, Benalla can take a lot out of its resilient efforts shown against a genuine premiership contender.
“We drew with them at the start of the year, and that’s one as a coach I probably made a couple of wrong decisions in that regard,” Waite said.
“We understand we have to start winning if we want to move forward as a team and as a club; these are the ones we really should win. But it doesn’t just happen; you’ve still got to get everything right, play your role and then it might come together.”
The Saints will get their chance for it to all come together against an 11th-placed Shepparton United on Saturday at Deakin Reserve in the battle of heaven and hell.