EFNL 2025: Unbeaten East Ringwood hands Blackburn first loss of season in 73-point rout

East Ringwood remains the only unbeaten side in Eastern’s top division after putting the competition on notice with a resounding 73-point belting of one of its closest flag rivals on Saturday.

AND then there was one.

East Ringwood remains the only unbeaten team in the Eastern league’s Premier Division after putting Blackburn to the sword with an almighty nine-goal final-quarter blitz in a top-of-the-table clash at Morton Park on Saturday.

The 17.8 (110) to 4.13 (37) victory came as the Roos led by seven points at the half before taking control in the third term off the back of a midfield brigade spearheaded by the unrelenting grit of reigning Chandler medallist James Belo.

The visitors turned a 23-point three-quarter time lead into a 73-point statement, handing the hosts their first defeat of the season while putting the competition on notice.

East Ringwood coach Ben Osborne lauded his side’s pressure following quarter time, as the Burners seldom troubled the scorers thereafter.

“It’s hard to come to Blackburn and get the win, but to win like we did in the end was super impressive,” Osborne said.

“They (Blackburn) had some shots on goal but a lot of them were rushed when they had the wind (in the first term), but we were able to adjust after quarter time and they kicked 3.6 for the rest of the game.

“It was really impressive with the way we defended the ground, got our contest work done and I thought our midfielders got right on top in clearances and gave us territory.

“On this ground, it’s hard to go from end to end.”

EFNL 2025: Midfield bull James Belo was again prominent for East Ringwood. Picture: Field of View Photography

Osborne said it was a defensive stranglehold which ran the length of the ground.

“They (Blackburn) like to move the ball quick, and I thought we were able to slow them up, turn the footy over at times and score on the back of that … today we kicked over 100 points against a high-quality side.”

Captain Belo’s midfield grunt was complemented by tireless young gun Josh Tovey and the ruckwork of Hawthorn rookie Jaime Uhr-Henry who also figured among the best, while key defender Tristan Tweedie led the back six.

“It’ll be interesting to see his numbers at clearances,” Osborne remarked of Belo.

EFNL 2025: Jaime Uhr-Henry has been a big inclusion for East Ringwood. Picture: Field of View Photography

Meanwhile, the Roos’ three-pronged attack fired with Riley Weatherill, Remy Maclean and Josh Fox causing the Blackburn defence plenty of headaches.

“We got some really good looks from our forward stoppages … we pride ourselves on that, but our three talls are working really well together,” Osborne said.

“It took a little bit of time to get going, but they’re starting to gel more and more each time.”

The Roos, now a game clear in first spot, are away to Vermont next Saturday before the mid-year bye.

“We’ll do some work on Vermont to make sure we continue this momentum – it is only early in the season but I think every win is just vital to where you can set yourself up later in the year,” Osborne said.