Next generation of BFNL stars help their teams to crucial wins

Their was plenty of strong performances, but it was the efforts of future top-line BFNL talent such as Luke Ellings (Kangaroo Flat), Malik Gordon (Strathfieldsaye) and Macey Eaton (Golden Square), that was a big standout.

As will be the case all year, readers can see plenty of highlights from the weekend's action with edited videos of all games.

Are we witnessing the early indications that Kangaroo Flat has finally turned a corner?

There have been more than a few false dawns at Dower Park in the past decade, but the way they played against South Bendigo on the weekend feels sustainable.

A lot has been made to date of their strict fitness regime under new coach Michael Ellings, and for the first time we saw why.

After a slow start in the opening term that saw them at one stage be 21 points down, courtesy of Bloods forward Brock Harvey kicking five for the quarter, the Roos ran all over their opponents as the game wore on.

They won uncontested possessions 170-120 and took 47-35 uncontested marks.

But it's one thing to be able to run and another to be tough at the contest.

After a round one belting at the coalface by Sandhurst, the Roos have found a nice balance, which saw them net 228-194 contested possessions and win clearances 55-51.

They have the contested animals of Ethan Roberts (28 disposals, seven effective tackles, nine clearances and seven inside 50s) and Kyle Symons (26 disposals, nine effective tackles, four clearances and three inside 50s), who are giving their outside runners such as Luke Ellings first use.

Ellings has become a genuine BFNL A-grader since moving from Gisborne with his father (Michael).

He has improved his contested game dramatically, with 23 of his 40 disposals being contested on the weekend.

But it is when he can run and use the footy that he is at his best.

Ellings had 11 clearances, ten inside 50s, five rebound 50s, two goals and 163 ranking points on his way to a man-of-the-match performance.

Then throw in Harry Whitty (24 disposals and four goals), who is splitting his time between forward and midfield, and the Roos suddenly have opposition teams taking notice.

South Bendigo remains a strong side from centre clearance, winning the stat 16-9.

Centre clearances, along with intercept marks (16-8), which is slightly skewed considering the Roos had 11 more inside 50s, were the Bloods' only areas of dominance.

Brody Haddow continues to lead the Bloods' manfully with 36 disposals, nine effective tackles, eight clearances, eight inside 50s and 194 ranking points.

Very little separated Strathfieldsaye and Eaglehawk in a tight battle that rarely exceeded a two-goal margin.

The Storm dominated uncontested possessions 246-148, as usual, but the Hawks' defensive structures held up for most of the match.

At the coalface, it was a grind with the Storm's deeper midfield, giving them a slight advantage throughout the day in contested possessions 146-139 and clearances 40-34.

It was the Hawks inability to take risks with their ball movement that was the pivotal difference according to coach Travis Matheson.

That was evident with the Hawks having 52-44 inside 50s yet 33-21 forward 50 turnovers.

Matt Harvey was superb for the Storm, having 31 disposals, seven clearances, six inside 50s and a goal.

Lachlan Gill (32 disposals and six clearances) and Daniel Clohesy (33 disposals and five clearances) also continued their fantastic start to the season.

Throw in Shannon Geary (25 disposals), Riley Wilson (17 disposals), Malik Gordon, and the Storm could have a midfield to rival Sandhurst and Gisborne.

Gordon's versatility could be one of the Storm's biggest weapons this season.

While playing forward in the second quarter, Gordon kicked two goals from seven possessions, with both coming from big, contested marks.

When thrown into the guts in the final term, Gordon collected six possessions, a clearance, and inside 50.

Contrast that with the Hawks, who, outside of Billy Evans (30 disposals and seven clearances) and Ben Thompson (23 disposals and seven clearances), it's clear they require more midfield depth.

Clayton Holmes had a strong return, playing a variety of roles.

Holmes amassed 27 touches, six inside and rebound 50s.

Similar to the Storm versus Hawks match, there wasn't much between Castlemaine and Golden Square at Camp Reserve.

Up until three-quarter-time, the game was a slog with only nine goals kicked between the two sides.

Overall, the Magpies won contested possession 143-136, uncontested possession 164-157, clearances 41-40 and inside 50s 51-42.

But when it counted in the final term, the Bulldogs put on the afterburners and slotted seven goals to four as the pressure valve was released at Wade Street.

In the final stanza, the Bulldogs won contested possession by 11, uncontested possession by seven and clearances by five.

Young players would always get more of a crack in 2024 for the Bulldogs, and while Jordan Rosengren, Dylan Hird and Luke Holt have led the midfield brigade so far, it was a young gun who stood tall on Saturday.

Macey Eaton played arguably his best game at the level to date, gathering 26 disposals, 14 of which came in a final term where he also had three clearances and two inside 50s.

Rosengren was still the Bulldog's most damaging player, with 20 disposals, nine clearances, three goals and 131 ranking points.

One of the big questions hovering over Square was where their goals would come from without Joel Brett, but the combination of Jayden Burke and Jack Stewart (three goals each) showed positive signs on Saturday.

Bailey Henderson bounced back from a tough outing in round two and was the Magpies best, accumulating 33 disposals, three clearances, five inside 50s, two goals and 153 ranking points.

Not going to go overly into detail on the match stats on a dark day for Maryborough, which was defeated by the largest margin in the BFNL this century.

But for a quick overview, Gisborne had plus 70 inside 50s, plus 245 disposals and plus 35 clearances.

However, a few Gisborne boys would love to see their own stats line on a fill-your-boots day.

Bradley Bernacki (274) and Braidon Blake (262) now lead the league for most ranking points in a game this season.

Bernacki had an all-time afternoon with 48 disposals, eight effective tackles, eight marks, 15 clearances, 13 inside 50s, and two goals.

Blake wasn't far behind him with 34 possessions, 41 hit-outs, 15 clearances and a goal.

They were two of ten Bulldogs who had 20 or more disposals.

Pat McKenna continued his strong comeback to senior footy, slotting seven majors from 26 disposals.

Maryborough skipper Coby Perry (36 disposals) and Alex Brown (39 disposals) tried hard, but the next best for the Magpies was Tom Myers and Ashley Humphrey on 16 disposals.

RANKING POINTS:

1: Bradley Bernacki (GIS) 274

2: Braidon Blake (GIS) 262

3: Brody Haddow (SB) 194

4: Pat McKenna (GIS) 178

5: Flynn Lakey (GIS) 171

6: Harry Luxmoore (GIS) 171

7: Isaiah Miller (SB) 167

8: Cooper Jones (SS) 164

9: Luke Ellings (KF) 163

10: Jake Hywood (KF) 158

DISPOSALS:

1: Bradley Bernacki (GIS) 48

2: Flynn Lakey (GIS) 42

3: Luke Ellings (KF) 40

4: Alex Brown (MB) 39

5: Coby Perry (MB) 36

6: Brody Haddow (SB) 36

7: Braidon Blake (GIS) 34

8: Bailey Henderson (CAS) 33

9: Jack Threlfall (GS) 33

10: Cooper Jones (SS) 33

CONTESTED POSSESSIONS:

1: Braidon Blake (GIS) 24

2: Bradley Bernacki (GIS) 23

3: Luke Ellings (KF) 23

4: Brody Haddow (SB) 20

5: Flynn Lakey (GIS) 19

6: Macey Eaton (GS) 18

7: Riley Walsh (SB) 18

8: Ethan Roberts (KF) 17

9: Harry Whitty (KF) 17

10: Jake Hywood (KF) 17

GOALS:

1: Brock Harvey (SB) 8

2: Pat McKenna (GIS) 7

3: Harry Luxmoore (GIS) 7

4: Sam Graham (GIS) 5

5: Justin Bateson (KF) 5

6: Harry Thomas (GIS) 4

7: Zac Denahy (GIS) 4

8: Harry Whitty (KF) 4

9: Jayden Burke (GS) 3

10: Jack Stewart (GS) 3

CONTESTED MARKS:

1: Harry Whitty (KF) 8

2: Michael Hartley (CAS) 5

3: Brock Harvey (SB) 5

4: Jayden Burke (GS) 4

5: Bailey Henderson (CAS) 3

6: Bailey Ilsley (EH) 3

7: Zac Denahy (GIS) 3

8: Kai Daniels (GS) 3

9: Lachlan Dalziel (KF) 3

10: Kya Lanfranchi (MB) 3

INTERCEPT MARKS:

1: Jack Reaper (GIS) 9

2: Liam Spear (GIS) 5

3: Jake Hywood (KF) 5

4: Kya Lanfranchi (MB) 5

5: Charles Dole (SS) 4

6: Charlie Langford (EH) 3

7: Clayton Holmes (EH) 3

8: Braidon Blake (GIS) 3

9: Zac Denahy (GIS) 3

10: Jon Coe (GS) 3

CLEARANCES:

1: Bradley Bernacki (GIS) 15

2: Braidon Blake (GIS) 15

3: Flynn Lakey (GIS) 13

4: Riley Walsh (SB) 12

5: Luke Ellings (KF) 11

6: Jackson Cardillo (GIS) 9

7: Jordan Rosengren (GS) 9

8: Ethan Roberts (KF) 9

9: Brody Haddow (SB) 8

10: Kalan Huntly (CAS) 7

INSIDE 50s:

1: Bradley Bernacki (GIS) 13

2: Luke Ellings (KF) 10

3: Kalan Huntly (CAS) 8

4: Harry Luxmoore (GIS) 8

5: Jed Denahy (GIS) 8

6: Brody Haddow (SB) 8

7: Flynn Lakey (GIS) 7

8: Zac Denahy (GIS) 7

9: Ethan Roberts (KF) 7

10: Ben Thompson (EH) 6

REBOUND 50s:

1: Alex Brown (MB) 16

2: Charlie Langford (EH) 9

3: Jack Threlfall (GS) 8

4: Andrew Van Heumen (SB) 8

5: Isaiah Miller (SB) 8

6: Cooper Jones (SS) 8

7: Coby Perry (MB) 7

8: Shannon Geary (SS) 7

9: Clayton Holmes (EH) 6

10: Jake Hywood (KF) 6

TACKLES:

1: Dylan Hird (GS) 12

2: Tom Strauch (GS) 11

3: Brody Haddow (SB) 10

4: Kalan Huntly (CAS) 9

5: Kyle Symons (KF) 9

6: Zavier Murley (GS) 8

7: Bradley Bernacki (GIS) 8

8: Campbell Smith (KF) 8

9: Jordan Rosengren (GS) 7

10: Ethan Roberts (KF) 7

HIT-OUTS:

1: Braidon Blake (GIS) 41

2: Brayden Frost (EH) 39

3: Toby Roberts (KF) 38

4: Toby Balcke (KF) 35

5: Llyod Butcher (CAS) 29

6: Rory McCrann-Peters (GS) 26

7: Riley Walsh (SB) 26

8: George Simpson (SS) 25

9: William Marks (SB) 20

10: Tanner Rayner (GS) 19