BOTTOM side Boort was left to rue a near miss against a top-four opponent for the second week in a row in the North Central league on Saturday.
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Seven days after going down to Wycheproof-Narraport by two points, the Magpies suffered a five-point defeat against St Arnaud.
In a game where the biggest margin that separated the two sides at any of the breaks was St Arnaud’s 10-point lead at quarter-time, the Saints triumphed 11.18 (84) to 12.7 (79) at home.
The victory keeps the Saints with a six-point buffer inside the top four as they strive to return to the finals following a wooden-spoon season last year.
RELATED – SATURDAY SCOREBOARD
While the game was decided by less than a kick, the inaccurate Saints squandered the chance for a more comfortably victory given they had 29 scoring shots to 19.
Kane Sevallos-Seden and Tim Atkins were the best players for the improved Saints, who had Michaelis McMasters kick three goals.
Coach Corey Gregg, who played another standout game, Ben Gregg and Brodie Leonard-Shannon all snared three goals for the Magpies.
• Sea Lake Nandaly turned a 17-point half-time deficit into a 19-point victory over Wedderburn.
Coming off two losses in a row, the Tigers booted 10 goals to four after the main break to record a 16.11 (107) to 13.10 (88) victory at Wedderburn that leaves them just percentage outside the top four after 10 rounds.
Star big man Ryan O’Sullivan kicked three second-half goals for the Tigers and was their best player, while Billy McInnes also kicked three goals and was among their standouts.
Key forward Sam Barnes kicked five goals for the Redbacks, including the first of the third quarter that gave Wedderburn a 23-point advantage.
Full-back Adam Postle was named best for the Redbacks.
• Ladder-leader Birchip-Watchem improved to 10-0 with a commanding 72-point win over Charlton.
The Bulls held the Navies to just one goal for the first three quarters on the way to a 15.11 (101) to 4.5 (29) victory.
For the third game in a row Bulls’ key forward Stephen Paulke bagged five goals, taking his season tally to 48, while Brent Lynch and Charles Hallam chipped in with three each.
It was another strong defensive effort from the Bulls as they kept the Navies to the competition’s lowest score of the season, with their best players led by Stefan Pye (two goals) and Ruben Vesikuru.
While it was a comfortable win for Birchip-Watchem, the Navies fought the game out and had the better of the last quarter when they kicked 3.2 to 0.2.
Jack Thompson was named best for the Navies.
• Donald’s grip on its top-four position is loosening after slumping to its third loss in a row with a 29-point defeat to Wycheproof-Narraport at Wycheproof.
The Demons led at every change in winning 11.8 (74) to 6.9 (45).
Hard-nut midfielder George Turner and Daniel Bibby led the way for the Demons, who had Ben Brennan slot three goals.
The Royal Blues didn’t help their cause with their inaccuracy, which included kicking 2.7 in the first half to trail by 15 points at the main break, despite having had the same amount of scoring shots as the Demons.
The better players for Donald were headed by coach Jacob Werts and Bryan Beckham. Seamus Young was the Royal Blues’ only multiple goalkicker with three.
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