Daly challenges the Dusties

DALYSTON played competitively against the Warragul Industrials on Saturday but ultimately went down by 20 points.

Dalyston travelled to Western Park in Warragul and played in good conditions for football.

A decent crowd turned out on the day, as the Dusties were hosting their Sponsors Day, which included special guest speaker Eddie McGuire.

The Magpies were shaky in the first quarter and played catch up for the rest of the game.

Despite this, they remained determined and gave the third-placed team a great run.

It took the first quarter for the Magpies to find their feet in the game.

The Dusties took advantage of the slow start, kicking away to an early four-goal lead.

A few adjustments ahead of the second quarter got the Magpies back into the action.

“The midfield went to work in the second quarter. I thought the backline held up pretty well throughout the day as well,” Dalyston’s football operations manager Stephen Howell said.

“Our forwards started to get on top of them as the game went on.”

Cale Love-Linay was once again a standout in the midfield alongside Hayden Wallis, who was running through the midfield and moving forward.

Kurt Thomas had a good day in the ruck, always playing consistently, and Ben Lewis was a rock down back.

Mitchell Hallahan and Brady O’Toole were instrumental to the lineup before coming off the ground with injuries in the second half.

Despite the hiccups, Dalyston continued to fight and managed to outscore the Dusties in both the final two quarters.

The exceptional second half brought the margin back down to a 20-point difference before the last siren.

“I think we’re gelling better and it’s showing on the scoreboard. We just have to improve our first quarter efforts,” Howell said.

“Once we got into it and got the ball moving properly, we looked really good. We’re definitely seeing improvement.”

Dalyston is set to play Tooradin Dalmore this Saturday.

“I’d say we are in with a chance against Tooradin. If we can get that first quarter right and run the game out, I think we could be in with a chance to win it,” Howell said.

“We probably just need to get the voices up a bit and come out with a bit more intensity.”

Dalyston will be hosting its Ladies’ Day on Saturday and is expecting to see a reasonable crowd out at the Dalyston Recreation Reserve.