Laurimar showcases offensive weapons in win over Heidelberg West

Laurimar erased a bad loss against Heidelberg West earlier in the season with an offensive show that will have NFL Division 3 rivals nervous.

Josh Leather in action for Laurimar. Picture: Andy Brownbill

Laurimar fielded what could be the most dangerous forward line in NFL Division 3 in a statement 41-point win over Heidelberg West.

The Power already had arguably the best forward in the game in Josh Williamson but added Daniel Francis and Koby Trajanovski to the mix on Saturday.

All three kicked two goals each in the 11.15 (81) to 6.4 (40) win at Laurimar Reserve.

Trajanovski had missed the previous two games with a quad/groin injury while Francis, a former Division 2 leading goalkicker, was making his Laurimar debut.

“We got Jake Richards back, which helps us a lot, Daniel Francis came in for his first game, which straightened us up a fair bit, and big Koby was best on in his comeback,” Laurimar coach Jimmy Atkins said.

Jake Richards in action for Laurimar.

“Koby was fantastic at centre half-forward, took a hell of a lot of contested marks and provided a really good leading target.

“Jacson Cecil didn’t play either, so we’ve got a fair few targets there now.

“Some of the little blokes – (Jarod) Coco, (Matt) Gersh, (Michael) Higgins – they’re all playing good footy, so we’ve got plenty of options.”

The victory also helped erase a 14-point loss to the Hawks in Round 5 and put a gap between the top three on the ladder.

Atkins was rapt with his players response after three weeks off.

“It was a very pleasing win to be honest, it was good to see we’ve returned pretty fit, it not a little bit fitter,” he said.

“I think that’s what we’ll take out of it the most, we came back and everyone stuck to the structures, skills were good, fitness was good.

“There was a lot of focus on that (Round 5 loss), Heidelberg West definitely got the better of us last time and I think we played some very poor footy that day.

Luke Wilson in action for Laurimar. Picture: David Crosling

“Saturday was a really good three and a half quarter effort, I thought our last 15 minutes was pretty poor but we were pretty good most of the day.”

After an even first quarter, Laurimar put the clamps on in the second and third terms.

Heidelberg West scored just two points in the second quarter and were held scoreless in the third as the Power built a 48-point buffer.

Skipper Mitch Thompson was his ever-reliable self in midfield, while Matt Gersh (two goals) and Jacob Lawson also impressed.

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“I think we structured up a lot better (after quarter-time), in the first quarter we allowed them to go through untouched,” Atkins said.

“Defensively we structured up a lot better, they threw a lot of blokes behind the ball because of our strong forward line but when they were kicking out we covered the space and didn’t allow them to switch.

“We had guys sitting behind the footy, Jake Richards and Grant Sampson, across half back who were able to take a lot of uncontested marks and didn’t allow them to get out of our half.”

Laurimar faces Lalor and Reservoir in the next fortnight before a blockbuster against South Morang, while Heidelberg West faces another stiff test against Kilmore.