GFL: Leopold beats St Joseph’s after tough clash

St Joseph’s suffered its first loss of the season against an experienced Leopold outfit on Saturday, but coach Ron Watt says he can only find positives from the match.

GFL: Leopold v St Joseph's. No 15 Felix Henderson St Joseph's.

St Joseph’s suffered its first loss of the season against an experienced Leopold outfit on Saturday, but coach Ron Watt says he can only find positives from the match.

The Joeys and Lions fought out a tight contest for three quarters, with Leopold clawing back from two goals down at quarter time to hold a five point advantage at the final break, before running out 12.14 (86) to 8.10 (58) victors at home.

Watt said he was impressed by the young Joeys guns finding their feet at the level this season.

“You want to win every game, but you can’t win every one and that was one we were right in but couldn’t get it done,” he said.

“It swung a bit, we had pretty reasonable control and we were right in the game through the first three quarters, but they just pulled away at the end.

GFL: Leopold v St Joseph's. No 43 Hunter Lewis St Joseph's.

“They deserved to beat us, we probably weren’t as polished as the three weeks previously, and part of it was their pressure but we’ll learn from that.

“All in all I was pretty happy with a lot of what we did, yes they beat us by four goals but we’ll take a lot out of that one, our contest was terrific and that’s been a really shining light through our games this year.”

Joeys have been exceeding many people’s expectations through the opening month of the season, with the loss against Leopold just their first for the season after an exodus of premiership stars during the off-season, as well as the coaching change from Paul Carson to Watt.

But Watt said the young talent at his disposal was stepping up to the level seamlessly.

“We still have some experienced guys running around, but we’re really happy with the progress some of the younger guys have made,” he said.

GFL: Leopold v St Joseph's. No 20. Luke Justin for Leopold.

“Not having a lot of those older heads that were a part of the team for a number of years brings a lot of uncertainty, so we didn’t want to pick a number of games that we wanted to win for the season.

“There’s certainly still expectations on how people perform and the attitude they bring to the group.

“We haven’t nominated a number of games we want to win, we want to just take it each week as it comes and see where we end up.

“There’s a lot of unknowns, especially for me having not seen many of these players play at all until this year, and not being in the league for the past five years.”

GFL: Leopold v St Joseph's. No 2. Oliver Tate for Leopold.

Leopold was led by Brock Williamson, who booted three majors in the absence of Mitch Patten, while Connor Giddings and Rob Maibaum both kicked two.

Around the grounds

Lara claimed its first win of the season in a tight clash with St Albans.

The Cats withstood a fourth-quarter charge from the Supersaints to hold onto a 11.10 (76) to 9.9 (63) victory, with

Four goals to Saints forward Sam Dobson has helped St Mary’s over the line against rivals Colac.

It seemed destined for a low-scoring affair up until half time with just eight goals kicked between the two sides, but the match exploded in the second half, with the Saints running out 13.16 (94) to 12.13 (85).

Colac’s Kane Smartt kicked three goals, as did St Mary’s Pat Dowling.

South Barwon has continued its strong start to the season under Mark Neeld with a 12.14 (86) to 7.7 (49) win over North Shore.

Swan skipper Matthew Caldow kicked three goals in a continuation of his strong recent form, while Seagull Jordan Lane was his side’s best, also booting three majors.

Geelong West has fought back to claim a 14.18 (102) to 12.7 (79) victory over Grovedale.

The Tigers led by 15 points at quarter time but the Giants switched into gear, kicking 13 goals to eight after the opening break to run out 23 point winners.

Giants recruit Kye Annand booted four majors in his best game for the season under Greg Mellor, while Patrick Eastman booted three in his first seniors game for the season.

Bell Park’s impressive undefeated start to the season has come to an end at the hands of Newtown & Chilwell, with the Eagles closing out a 17.9 (111) to 10.9 (69) victory over the Dragons.

Gun teenager Euriah Hollard booted five goals to lead the way for Newtown & Chilwell, with Matthew Boag and Lachlan Bond also pitching in with three majors each.

Dragon Nicholas Petering kicked three goals himself but it was not enough to steer his club to a fourth-straight win.

Originally published as GFL: Leopold beats St Joseph’s after tough clash