Central Highlands 22.14 (146) d Horsham District 8.3 (51)
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IT was simply not Horsham District Football Netball League’s day at Horsham City Oval in the AFL Victoria Country Championships on Saturday.
The district league was comprehensively outplayed by a bigger, quicker and more skilled Central Highlands Football League outfit.
The writing was on the wall even before the match started, with coach Shannon Argall, leg, and utility Dave McLeish, illness, late withdrawals.
Argall’s withdrawal was a particularly big blow for the green and gold, which was undersized against a much bigger opponent.
The Highlanders scored early and often after the bounce of the ball in the first quarter.
Dan Wehrung opened the team’s account with a goal on the run at the four-minute mark, opening the floodgates.
Shaun Finlayson – a 190-centimetre, 110-kilogram key forward from Bungaree – scored his first goal after outmarking Horsham District full back Paul Trotter in a one-on-one contest.
It was a sign of things to come from Finlayson.
In the absence of Argall, Harrow-Balmoral’s Mick Phelan and Kalkee’s Ben Harrison shared ruck duties against 204-centimetre Central Highlands giant Dave Benson.
Harrison gave away at least 20 centimetres to his opponent, but was often able to nullify Benson’s influence due to his spectacular leaping ability.
Harrison was one of the district league’s best before coming from the field with a rolled ankle in the first half.
The home side struggled to move the ball past the centre in the first half, and when it did Central Highlands defender Michael Searl was there to cut it off.
Searl and the rest of the Central Highlands defence, including former Rupanyup player Matt Tyler, kept Horsham District from kicking a score in the first half.
The lone score for the home side came when a Central Highlands defender miskicked an attempted switch across the face of goal, and it went through for a rushed behind.
Facing an 80-point deficit at the main break, Argall urged his charges to show some pride and they responded.
The midfield came to life and started winning clearances, with Sean Mantell’s pace and Robbie Miller’s grunt work lifting the side.
Taylors Lake co-coach Deek Roberts also moved onto the ball after having little influence early in the game on a forward flank, and his class shone through.
Roberts was composed and used the ball effectively.
Mantell kicked Horsham District’s first goal after being collared in a tackle and earning a free kick.
It sparked a run of five straight goals for the home side, with captain Scott Carey, Rupanyup co-coach David Lang, Roberts and Miller all adding majors.
Central Highlands hit back with a run of its own, but Horsham District had saved face.
Mantell, Noradjuha-Quantong’s Jordan Huff, and Laharum’s Sam Winfield added three more goals in the final term to keep the final margin under 100 points.
Although Central Highlands kicked 22 goals, Horsham’s backline held up reasonably well.
Finlayson finished with six goals but was made to earn them by Kalkee’s Matt Magee, who switched onto him after Trotter manned him in the early going.
Pimpinio veteran Daniel Baker started forward but went back with great success, cutting off the Highlanders and rebounding the ball well.
Roberts collected an AFL Victoria Country medal as Horsham District’s best player, while Searl was given the corresponding award for Central Highlands.
Argall said the second-half response from his team was something it could hang its hat on.
‘‘We went in with a more aggressive mindset in the second half,’’ he said.
‘‘They have some talented footballers but you want to kick goals and add some respectability to the scoreboard.
‘‘The midfield lifted with guys like Callum Hobbs, Scott Carey and Sean Mantell, and Deek going into the midfield from the forward line helped.’’
Argall said it was a tough decision to withdraw after pulling up sore on the morning of the match.
‘‘I didn’t want someone on the sidelines to miss out while I was running around at 50 per cent,’’ he said.
‘‘Ben Harrison did a great job in the ruck with me out – I’ve rucked against him before and he’s a terrific athlete.
‘‘The only problem with having him in the ruck was it meant we couldn’t use him somewhere else.’’