West Preston-Lakeside overcome shocking inaccuracy to down Hurstbridge
West Preston-Lakeside moved one step closer to NFL Division 1 finals, overcoming shocking inaccuracy and Hurstbridge star Daniel Keenan’s 400th game to claim an important win.
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West Preston-Lakeside overcame shocking inaccuracy to get the better of Hurstbridge by 15 points in NFL Division 1 on Saturday.
The Roosters will be breathing a sigh of relief their conversion didn’t come back to haunt them at JE Moore Park as the finals race intensifies.
Instead, the 7.15 (57) to 6.6 (42) victory puts the reigning premier in the box seat to claim fourth spot with two games remaining.
BRIDGES: KEENEN BRINGS UP 400, HUNGRY FOR MORE
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DIV 2: BANYULE STILL THE TEAM TO BEAT: HARVEY
After a 32-point loss to Montmorency the previous week, Roosters coach Rob Maiorana was pleased with his team’s response.
“The boys were disappointed with that performance and they wanted to make amends this week,” he said.
“It was about rectifying a few things and giving a better account of themselves, and I thought they did that.
“We actually controlled the game and I don’t think the scoreboard reflected the game.
“We played a really good four-quarter effort but we were wasteful in front of goal, which didn’t allow us to really damage them on the scoreboard as we should have.”
West Preston-Lakeside dominated with the wind, but was plagued by inaccuracy, booting 3.7 in the first quarter and a horror 1.8 in the third term.
Positively for the Roosters, they limited Hurstbridge’s opportunities at the scoring end, conceding 2.2 and 3.2 in the second and fourth quarters.
Half-back Max Dreher was best on ground, while Alex Federico and Nathan Valladares also impressed and Ozgur Uysal booted two majors.
Key players Nick Kempe and Michael Ercolano made their returns, while Mark Kovacevic is expected back before finals.
West Preston-Lakeside faces Bundoora in the penultimate round of the season before a final-round grand final rematch against Macleod.
Maiorana was positive about his club’s chances heading into the pointy end of the season.
“I think we’re in good shape. It’s still a tough competition and we’ve got two hard games coming up,” he said.
“We need one more win to lock in a (finals) position and we want to go in with some good form.
“The beauty of it is, we’ve got destiny in our hands, we’re not relying on other results.”
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