Late surge stops the Bulldogs
AN evenly matched contest resulted in a nine-point win to Koo Wee Rup over Phillip Island on Saturday.
The Bulldogs travelled to the Koo Wee Rup Recreation Reserve and, after a couple of missed opportunities on both sides, kicked the first goal of the game at the 10-minute mark.
This spurred some momentum, as Phillip Island put two more goals on the board in quick succession.
Captain Jack Taylor led Phillip Island’s goal kicking efforts for the day with four goals, with the rest of the haul shared by six other goalkickers.
Koo Wee Rup fought back to put three goals on the scoreboard, but a fourth to Phillip Island saw it six points ahead at quarter time.
Phillip Island maintained its lead through the second quarter.
The play was very contested, with Phillip Island applying plenty of frontal pressure.
The young guys were standing up with Tom Lamb performing well down back.
Hayden Bruce and Mark Collison were dominant forces across the midfield and Taylor led by example up forward.
The six-point lead remained intact through the third quarter.
Two goals to Koo Wee Rup weren’t enough to rattle the Bulldogs, despite momentarily losing the lead.
Phillip Island managed to respond with two goals of its own, giving it the slight edge heading into the last quarter.
Unfortunately, the Bulldogs let the opportunity to claim the win slip in the dying minutes of the game.
Koo Wee Rup kicked two goals in the first half of the quarter, which Phillip Island responded to.
However, three more goals to Koo Wee Rup ended the game, putting the home side in front when it mattered, and allowed it to take the four points.
Although Phillip Island was disappointed with the loss, coach Cameron Pedersen thought it was a great game.
Pedersen said the team gave itself a chance to win, but it could not recover from Koo Wee Rup’s late surge.
Phillip Island will be coming up against Garfield at the Kennel this weekend.
Garfield is currently sitting third on the ladder and Phillip Island is ready for the challenge.
