Kangaroo Flat has made its best start to a season since 2000 after disposing of Castlemaine on Sunday.
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The 17.8 (110) to 8.17 (65) victory gave the Roos a 5-1 record and lifted them to third place on the ladder.
They haven’t been this well placed since round six, 2000, when they were 5-1 and went on to play in the grand final against Castlemaine.
Sunday’s victory was hardly a finals-like performance from the Roos, but the four points was all that mattered to coach Jason Stevens.
“We were patchy and flat today...but we did what we needed to do,’’ Steven said.
“That gives us five wins and it’s a significant improvement on where we were last year.”
The story of the game was more about Castlemaine than the Roos. The Magpies are desperate to grab a scalp of a top five team and Sunday’s home game looked an ideal opportunity.
The problem for the home side was not making the most of their opportunities in front of goal. The Magpies matched the Roos in general play around the ground, but when it came to finishing the good work in front of goal it was a different story.
Castlemaine missed set shot after set shot, particularly in the first half, and should have went into the main break holding a handy lead – not trailing by a goal.
The two teams had five scoring shots each in the third quarter, but the Roos kicked 5.0 to 2.3 to open up a 21-point lead at the final change.
Even in the last quarter the Magpies had chances to put scoreboard pressure on the Roos.
They kicked the first goal of the term and had a couple of other opportunities to reduce the margin to within two goals, but couldn’t convert.
Kangaroo Flat key forward Cam Rinaldi showed the home team how to do it. He kicked four final quarter goals on his way to seven for the game as the Roos kicked six of the last seven goals of the match.
Rinaldi received some great support from VFL-listed Ryley Barrack, who kicked four goals, while Rhys Healey added three goals.
Castlemaine’s effort was good for much of the game, but the Magpies still lack the class to test the top teams.
Rhys Jenkins and Zac Hansford battled hard in their 100th games for the club, while Kal Huntly and Tom Horne did their bit through the middle.
The Magpies slipped to a 2-4 record and probably have to win their next three games against South Bendigo (a), Gisborne (h) and Eaglehawk (a) to be considered a genuine finals contender.