Sam Lloyd started the game with a bang as Bundoora secured a big win
Ex-AFL star Sam Lloyd was at his brilliant best to inspire Bundoora’s big win over NFNL Division 1 premiership rival Montmorency.
Northern
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An inspired Sam Lloyd performance propelled Bundoora to an eye-catching 39-point victory over NFNL Division 1 premiership rival Montmorency on Saturday.
Lloyd booted five of the first seven goals of the match to ignite the Bulls at Yulong Reserve in one of the most dominant individual displays of the season.
Lloyd would finish with six goals in a best-on-ground performance in the 9.16 (70) to 4.7 (31) victory.
At the other end Patrick Fitzgerald kicked three of Montmorency’s four majors.
After a memorable draw with Heidelberg last week, the Magpies were held to a single goal in the first half as their 10-game win streak came to a crashing end.
Bulls coach Michael Ryan had nothing but praise for his star man.
“Sammy had a great game, he spent a bit more time forward and was able to set the game up early for us,” he said.
“He’ll be week-by-week depending on the opposition and who we have available but without John Jorgensen and Shaun McKernan, Peter McEvoy has done a great job but we felt he needed a little more support against a strong opposition.
“It’s great to get a good win against a club that’s probably been the form side of the competition for most of the year.
“We had a focus to play four quarters of football and just do the basics, we thought if we could do that then there’s plenty of talent in the side to kick a winning score.”
Bundoora held an 11-point lead at quarter-time before exploding in the second term, kicking 4.7 while hold the visitors to one behind, to take a 41-point advantage into half-time.
Montmorency responded in the third term with three goals to two to reduce the margin to 35 points before the game turned into trench warfare in the final quarter, with neither side able to land a goal.
“Our backline was superb, Lachie East, Jackson Davies and Neville Jetta held the fort well down there,” Ryan said.
“After half-time we were extremely inaccurate on goal, we had some good looks as well, which was a little frustrating.
“Montmorency had a good third quarter and there was a couple of times we had the chance to take some air out of the game.
“Yulong is good, the council has done a fair bit of remedial work in the past fortnight.
“It was a fast deck on Saturday, which was awesome, we’re better suited to a fast ground with the brand and style we try to play, it’s definitely more conducive to a dry ground.”
While Lloyd stole the show, Hamish Shepheard, Ben McNiece and Jackson Davies impressed.
For Montmorency, Ben Paterson was named best-on in defeat, while skipper Sam Binion, Connor Kane and Fitzgerald were also strong.
The result sees Bundoora move within a game of Montmorency in second with the Magpies slipping a game-and-a-half behind Heidelberg in the race for the minor premiership.
The Bulls have all but sealed a finals spot, now two games clear of Greensborough in sixth.
They travel to Warringal Reserve to face the ladder-leading Tigers in a grand final rematch on Saturday in another test of their premiership credentials.
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“We’ve got Heidelberg this week, so it doesn’t get any easier, they’ve been sensational this year,” Ryan said.
“We’ve got to make sure we have a strong week on the track and put our best foot forward to hopefully knock them off.”
Elsewhere in Division 1, North Heidelberg put and end to Macleod’s finals hopes with a 54-point win and Hurstbridge moved back into the top-five with a 90-point triumph over Whittlesea.
West Preston-Lakeside ended a six-game losing streak with a 52-point triumph over Banyule and Heidelberg was too good for Greensborough, winning by 10 goals.
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