Diggers Rest too strong for Macedon in RDFNL Anzac Day clash

Rarely separated by more than a kick all day, Diggers Rest surged home to beat Macedon in the traditional Riddell District Anzac Day clash.

Matthew Krul in action for Diggers Rest. Picture: Hamish Blair

A dominant final term secured Diggers Rest a hard-fought 35-point win over Macedon in the Riddell District’s traditional Anzac Day clash.

The two teams were rarely separated by more than a kick all day until the Burras piled on five goals to one to finish the stronger.

Jaidyn Caruana was awarded the Grumont Medal as the day’s most courageous player in the 13.11 (89) to 8.6 (54) victory that continued Diggers’ undefeated start to the season.

Burras coach Jamie Lobb was pleased his team found another gear.

“It was a frustrating game, we couldn’t quite get out of second gear, but it was pleasing to see the guys found a way to win,” he said.

Jaidyn Caruana is awarded the Grumont Medal by Ross Grumont.

Katie Clarke is awarded the McDougall Medal.

“We felt like we were in control of the game but we weren’t hitting the scoreboard, so I knew once we fixed those issues forward of centre we’d be right.

“Our decision making (was better), the dump kick long wasn’t working, they were getting numbers back behind the footy and we didn’t adjust to that quickly enough.

“Macedon were really good, they had quite a young side in but they’ll be another team challenging that’s for sure.”

Inaccuracy cost Macedon a quarter-time lead, kicking 2.3 to 3.1, to trail by four points and the margin remained the same at half-time.

Diggers kicked away to a 16-point advantage early in the third through skipper Mitch Jensen and Mitch Day before the Cats rallied with two goals of their own to debutant Will Mackay and Jacob Gough.

Justin Tenaglia got the Burras started in the fourth term with a snap out of traffic before Matt Krul snagged his third of the day just seconds later after a clean centre clearance.

Jaycob Hickey got on the scoresheet with a nice set shot before Macedon gave away a free kick before the centre bounce and Jensen made them pay, extending the lead to 34 points.

Sam Indian broke the drought for Macedon but Mark Orr restored the six-goal lead on the final siren.

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

While Caruana was awarded the Anzac Day medal, Lobb had defender Chris Lawton as best afield.

“I had Chris best-on-ground, we swung him down back and he really controlled the half-back line,” Lobb said.

“He took a lot of good marks and rebounded really well out of D50, Tommy Swaz (Schwarzenberg) played down back, he hasn’t done that much before, and played really well too.”

Jensen and Krul both finished with three goals for Diggers, while Gough was the only multiple goalkicker for Macedon with two.

It was a difficult day for the Cats with a pair of serious injuries.

Jack Kernan went off in the opening minutes with an arm injury and was in a sling after the game, while Brad Cooke dislocated his knee in the final quarter and was stretchered off.

Coach Al Meldrum wasn’t disappointed in the performance, pushing a premiership favourite for much of the day.

Zach Baggs was arguably the best player on the ground, having an influence across the ground, while Chris Kendall, Gough and Hamish Govan were also strong contributors.

Diggers Rest must now turn around in four days to face Lancefield, while Macedon has the bye.

“That’s two pretty solid games first up and now Lancefield coming off a four-day break will be tough,” Lobb said.

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“They gave Woodend a fair shake on the weekend so we’ll need to make sure we’re on the top of our game.

“We’ll train as normal on Thursday, it will be a light session, a bit more of a recovery session.

“We’ll do a bit of planning for the weekend and then we’ve got a bye after Lancefield, which will be a good chance to put the feet up and get the bodies right for everyone.”

In the netball, Macedon were too good, winning 47-20, with Katie Clarke awarded the McDougall Medal for most courageous.