Macleod storm home to defeat St Mary’s in Jack Bianchin’s return to DeWinton Reserve

Kurt Manuel was on fire as Macleod stormed home to knock off St Mary’s – and old premiership Kanga Jack Bianchin – to cement itself as one of the competition’s top teams.

Kurt Manuel in action for Macleod. Picture: Andy Brownbill

A Kurt Manuel masterclass and six-goal last-quarter blitz delivered Macleod a potentially season-defining win over St Mary’s on Saturday.

The Kangas came from six points down at the last change to claim a 35-point victory at DeWinton Reserve and cement itself as one of the top teams in NFNL Division 2.

The match was a clash of new coaches and old mates, Macleod’s Nick Lynch facing 2015 premiership teammate and now St Mary’s coach Jack Bianchin

Darcy Barden booted five goals and Brad Leggett’s move into the ruck proved match-turning as the Kangas powered home to win 12.16 (88) to 7.11 (53).

However, it was Manuel who stole the show as he collected disposals at will and kicked the final goal of the match.

Brad Leggett in action for Macleod. Picture: Nathan William Media

Macleod coach Nick Lynch was in awe of the performance.

“Kurt’s a two-time best-and-fairest winner, so he’s a star of our footy club,” Lynch said.

“He’s had a quiet start to the season, coming off a knee injury at the back-end of last year, and he had 10 or 11 possession game the first two rounds.

“He had something like 13 contested possessions, eight clearances and a goal in the last quarter, he brained them.”

While Macleod held a five-point lead at quarter-time, scores were level at the half.

Inaccuracy proved costly for the home team as St Mary’s took the lead but Lynch could see the game changing in his team’s favour.

“The game changed at half-time actually, they’re a young, quick side and they were getting us out the back,” he said.

“We were playing cute footy, when our go-to is hard, competitive simple, drive the ball forward to our key forwards and let them do the work.

“We got on top in the contest, stamping our bigger bodies on them a little bit and didn’t let them play their free-flowing game.

“We kicked four out on the full in the third quarter, so if we kick straight we probably go into three-quarter-time with a three or four-goal led.

“The momentum changed in the third quarter and it showed on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter.”

Barden’s fifth of the day levelled the scores once more after just 30 seconds.

A quick-fire double from Mackenzie Hogg and two more from Zach Howell put Macleod in control before Manuel sealed it.

Barden, Leggett, Hogg Will Tsitsis and Justin White shone for the Kangas.

Leggett has been vital in his return to DeWinton Reserve after one season at Panton Hill

“Brad went into the ruck in the third quarter and his competitive, that’s exactly what we wanted,” Lynch said.

“He got the ball going our way and it turned from there, we had Jake Chimenello go down with a broken cheekbone in the first quarter, so we needed another option and needed a different look.”

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For St Mary’s, Huon Macgibbon was best afield along with Ben Young, Rory Hanlon and Jake Halewood.

After winning their first two games of the season, the Burras will look to bounce back against Whittlesea, while Macleod will travel to Old Paradians.

Elsewhere in Division 2, Whittlesea was too good for Lower Plenty in a 34-point win, Panton Hill eased past Watsonia by 26 points and Diamond Creek put Old Paradians to the sword under lights with a 106-point thumping as ex-AFL junior Darcy Macpherson made his senior debut.

On Friday, Northcote Park held on to defeat Thomastown by 20 points.

BARDEN MASTERCLASS A WARNING TO RIVALS

Look out NFNL Division 2 defenders, Darcy Barden is coming.

One of the Northern league’s modern greats, Barden made a name for himself as a defender – earning Division 1 or 2 Team of the Year honours in six of the past seven seasons.

However, the newly appointed co-captain will spearhead Macleod’s premiership bid this season and sent a warning to the competition with a dominant nine-goal performance on Saturday.

The bag helped propel the Kangas to a thumping 86-point win over Thomastown at Main Street Reserve, a strong response after a 41-point Round 1 loss to Diamond Creek.

The visitors piled on 9.5 in the first quarter to take a 52-point lead and all-but end the contest at quarter-time, before running out 23.19 (157) to 10.11 (71) victors.

Barden is no stranger to the forward 50m, he booted 63 goals in 2017, the year after Lower Plenty was relegated from Division 1.

Macleod coach Nick Lynch said if his Barden got the type of supply he did on Saturday, he would be hard to stop.

“I was speaking to the (Thomastown) coaches after the game and they said the young fella at full-back went alright – and he actually did,” Lynch said.

“We just had so much supply it was inevitable that he was going to kick a bag and he left a couple out there.

“It will be a permanent thing, that’s the plan anyway, so if we can get him enough of the ball he’s going to kick enough goals to win us games.”

The thumping win was an important reaction to last week’s loss.

The first-quarter blitz was mesmerising as the Kangas surged forward at every opportunity.

The margin was 10 goals at half-time before Thomastown responded with a five-goal third term but Macleod doubled down and replied with a 6.7 fourth quarter to stamp their authority.

After addressing some errors during the week, Lynch said the team clicked from the first bounce.

“It was nice to get off the mark to be honest,” he said.

“Everything we’ve been working on is brand new to the group, so we’re getting a little better with things each week.

“We addressed some things we thought we needed to work on from the previous game and it clicked in the first quarter.

“Our intent around the ball was really good and we pressured and turned it over and we smashed them on the rebound.

“(Diamond Creek) is probably the best team in it and we weren’t quite up to it.

“We had a good review on Tuesday, some ball movement patterns and we got smashed around stoppages, so we had two focuses this week and we dominated in both those areas.”

Barden was the standout player on the field but, returning from VFL duties, Darcy Hogg was prolific through midfield and ignited the Kangas blitz.

Caleb Karavas, Mackenzie Hogg, Haydon Manuel and Sam Vass also impressed in the win.

“Darcy is a step above to be honest, he’s extremely fit and broke the lines open for us,” Lynch said.

“He put them to the sword, especially in the first quarter, they couldn’t keep up with us and he was a big part of that.”

For Thomastown, Jake Nikolov was named best-afield, boom VFL-listed recruit Deakyn Smith impressed in his Bears debut, while Youseph Dib and Makka Zakkour also held their heads high.

Kyle Green kicked three goals for the second consecutive week.

Macleod will now face high-flying St Mary’s after the Easter break, coached by Kangas premiership player Jack Bianchin.

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After losing the final six games last season to earn relegation and the first game this year, Lynch said it was an important win to regain some confidence.

“We needed some confident to know what we’ve been working on is taking us in the right direction,” he said.

“You can talk about you’re work but until you see it, now the belief comes to know we’re on the right track and it makes my message easier.”

Elsewhere in Division 2, the Burras made light work of Panton Hill in a 91-point triumph, Diamond Creek demolished Lower Plenty by 104 points, Northcote Park smashed Old Paradians by 10 goals and Whittlesea edged Watsonia by 27.