Riddell continue hot start to RDFNL premiership defence with big win over Wallan
Defending RDFNL premier Riddell has knocked off preliminary finalist Macedon and grand final rival Wallan in the opening fortnight, here’s what coach Arron Bray takes from it.
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Riddell couldn’t have asked for a better start to its RDFNL premiership defence.
A strong 36-point win over preliminary finalist Macedon in Round 1 was followed by a dominant 44-point triumph over Wallan in the grand final rematch at Greenhill Reserve on Saturday.
Young gun Lachy Hay was prolific and kicked two goals, legendary spearhead Dean Galea booted five and the Bombers’ defence locked down the Magpies’ dangerous attack.
So what can Riddell take from it’s opening fortnight after it’s 16.9 (105) to 9.7 (61) victory?
“Pretty much that our system is working well, against what we think is going to be strong opposition, so that was the pleasing thing,” coach Arron Bray said.
“We didn’t go away from what was successful for us last year, which would have been easy to do. The boys have trusted the process.
“It’s always nice to get a win, especially against Wallan.
“They’ve recruited heavily and we didn’t know what we were going to get.”
After a tight opening term, Riddell took a 12-point lead into quarter-time before taking control in the second term.
Wallan was held to just two goals to half-time, the Bombers building a 36-point lead after a five-goal burst.
The margin remained at six goals at the final change and with a match already under their belts, Riddell ran out the match stronger, if a little wasteful, with a 4.4 finish.
If he was to nitpick, Bray said the team’s forward entries still needed work.
“I don’t think we capitalised as much as we should have with our ball use going inside 50m,” he said.
“Having said that, coming off the half-back line we used the ball pretty well, it was just our front-half connection that wasn’t as good as we wanted it to be.
“Just decision-making, a little bit of pressure and we tried to address that at quarter-time and half-time and as the game went on we got better.”
After being among the best against his former club Macedon in Round 1, Hay showed all his potential with a dominant all-round performance.
Dylan Tarczon, skipper Josh Grabham, Cal Williamson, Ben Borg and Brodie Miller also impressed.
“Lachy was excellent, he would have had 36 on a wing and kicked two goals,” Bray said.
“He had a really good game, he was in our best in Round 1 as well, so he’s been pretty good.
“With a young kid, he’s just turned 18, we’re trying to make him as consistent as we can get him … that’s the thing we want from Lachy.
“Borgy was pretty good on the weekend too, he had 20 off a half-back flank and in the midfield, it’s a bit easier for him because I had him at Rupo.
“Dean (Galea) could have had a few more but for some reason his hands didn’t stick but he persisted and got his looks.”
For Wallan, Cameron Cloke played a lone-hand in attack and finished with five goals, while Brodie Gilchrist, Corey Viani and Brayden Byrne also stood tall.
After getting past two of its pre-season premiership rivals, Riddell has a couple more challenges in the next month.
Melton Centrals follows the Easter break before a trip to Kyneton, the Bombers will also face Diggers Rest away two weeks later.
Bray says a quieter off-season has allowed the team to refine its game rather than concentrate on connection over summer.
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“Last year was a different case because it’s always going to take you a little while to settle down with new players coming onto the list,” he said.
“It took us a little longer to settle than we expected but, having said that, we were playing our best footy at the back end (of the season) anyway.
“So now it’s just a matter of refining a few things in terms of how we want to play the game.”
Wallan will look to bounce back after the break with a trip to Romsey.
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