Diggers Rest edges Riddell in thrilling finish to cement top spot

Diggers Rest cemented itself on top of the RDFL ladder with a thrilling win over Riddell in a top-of-the-table epic.

Joshua Wallace in action for Diggers Rest. Picture: Hamish Blair

Diggers Rest has one hand on the Riddell District minor premiership after a nail-biting top-of-the-table win over Riddell on Saturday.

The Burras avenged a one-point loss to the Bombers at Bloomdale Oval earlier in the season with a six-point triumph at Riddells Creek Reserve.

The 9.7 (61) to 8.7 (55) result moves Diggers a game clear on top – with a game in hand and a 40 per cent buffer – while Wallan is a further two points back in third.

The highly-anticipated clash lived up to the billing as both teams threw everything at the contest.

Riddell jumped out to an early lead, taking a nine-point margin to the first break and a eight-point buffer at half-time.

Cole Laurie in action for Diggers Rest.

However, Diggers made its move in the third term, booting three goals to one to establish a six-point break that would not be headed.

The Burras threatened to kick away in the final term with a pair of early goals before the Bombers battled back to within a kick but couldn’t find the drawing goal.

Diggers coach Jamie Lobb said his team had learnt plenty from the Round 4 loss.

“It played out very similarly to when we played them at home earlier in the year,” he said.

“They got the jump on us early and we ran out of time but this time we got ourselves back into the game a bit earlier and hit the scoreboard, which was good.

“We kicked the first couple of the last quarter – they got it back late, with about 10 minutes to go, but we were able to hold on.

“It’s a really important win, we’re a game clear and 40 per cent, which is a good position to be in, and we’ve got to make sure we keep improving now and don’t have any mishaps along the way.”

Lachlan Ronaldson booted four goals to lead the Burras to victory, while at the other end Liam Berry also booted four.

Bombers spearhead Tim Walsh was kept to one major as Diggers defender Mitch Brockwell claimed another big scalp after keeping Jason Cooke goalless the previous week.

However, Lobb named Austin Cicero best-on-ground after a strong game on the wing.

Luke Delahey in action for Diggers Rest. Picture: Aaron Cook

“(Cicero) won some really big one-on-one and one-on-two contests that if he didn’t get his hands on the ball then they would have gone down the other end and had a shot on goal.

“He set the scene for how we wanted to attack the ball and the contest.

“Mitch has got three big scalps this year, he’s had a big fortnight and he kept (Wallan’s Corey) Grindlay goalless earlier in the year as well.

“Looking back, Lachy was a bit wasted in the first half – we had him deep but weren’t getting entries to him.

“We moved him up to centre half-forward in the second half and late in the game he gave us a good target and hit the scoreboard as well.”

Ben Sonogan was Riddell’s best in defeat, while Tom Alkemade, Josh Grabham and Steve Treweek also stood tall.

Riddell will look to bounce back when it travels to Melton Centrals on Saturday.

Diggers Rest takes on Woodend-Hesket at Bloomdale Oval before games against Romsey, Western Rams, Lancefield and a final-round blockbuster against Wallan in the run to finals.

PREVIEW: INJURY FORCES STAR OUT OF TOP-OF-THE-TABLE CLASH

LEADER: GET YOUR RIDDELL DISTRICT FOOTY NEWS HERE

EDFL: BEST FOOTY WE’VE PLAYED SAYS STRATHMORE COACH

Forced to come from behind, Lobb was pleased with his team’s ability to win in different ways.

“We haven’t won a game like that his year, coming from behind,” he said.

“We’ve normally been in control of games so it was good to see the guys adapt and be up for the fight, it was really good.”

In other results, Macedon bounced back with a strong 24-point win over Woodend-Hesket, Melton Centrals thumped Lancefield by 73 points and Wallan were a class above Western Rams, winning by 209.