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STAR White Hills' forward Jed Lamb's red-hot form continued on Saturday with a 14-goal haul in the Demons' 94-point belting of Mount Pleasant.
Lamb proved unstoppable as he capitalised on the strong work of the Demons' midfield to take his season tally to 48 goals from just six games.
Lamb's bag of 14 - which came two weeks after booting 13 against Heathcote - spearheaded the Demons to a resounding 23.16 (154) to 8.12 (60) win at home.
"He goes alright, doesn't he?," White Hills coach Sam Kerridge said.
"I think he had 15 kicks and kicked 14 goals... he just never looked like missing today.
"Jed's true ability is really starting to shine. We had him two years ago when he was just finding his feet at this level in terms of the delivery he's getting, but he had a big summer and was really keen to have a big year and his form is certainly showing that.
"He's just proving too good at the minute."
With his 48 goals already, former AFL talent Lamb is well on track to becoming the Heathcote District league's first century goalkicker since Leitchville-Gunbower's Matt Perri in 2017.
Scores had been level at 4.3 apiece at quarter-time before the ladder-leading Demons asserted their dominance with 19 goals to four for the remainder of the match as they kicked their third score above 150 for the season.
"We were really good over the last three quarters. Mounts played some good footy early and it took us a bit to get going, but the boys have shown this year the ability to respond and their last three quarters were super," Kerridge said.
"Jed was obviously fantastic for us, Jack (Fallon) and Hayden (Wright) were really good in defence and Eli Pearce had his best game for us through the wing."
Mount Pleasant coach Darren Walsh stuck with veteran defender Dale Young on Lamb for the entire game for the simple fact he had no better option to try to shut down the Demons' dynamo.
"We played Youngy on Lamb all day because I had no-one else to play on him... Youngy was our best option," Walsh said.
"We dropped blokes back in front of him, but we had to stop White Hills at the source and we didn't do that.
"Lamb was unstoppable. His marking was fantastic, but he got some bloody good delivery.
"When a player of his calibre is on fire the way he was today and he's getting the delivery he did, you can't stop him.
"I thought our effort up until the 10-minute mark of the last quarter was really good, but the last 20 minutes they ran away with it."
Midfielder Liam Collins continued his strong form for the Blues to be their best player.
"I thought our midfield for three quarters was really good. Our stats showed for the first three quarters we were in front for centre clearances and stoppages," Walsh said.
"Liam Collins, Billy Mahony and Riley McNamara were fantastic in the midfield."
Gun forward Ben Weightman kicked four of the Blues' eight goals.
The Blues, who are now 2-3, suffered further injury blows, this time to Tyler McNamara (leg), Pat O'Brien (concussion) and Travis Baird (corked leg).
HUNTLY v LBU
Lockington-Bamawm United coach Brodie Collins concedes his team was "extremely lucky" to get away with a win against Huntly.
A massive upset loomed at half-time when the underdog Hawks led by 22 points on their home deck.
The Hawks still led at three quarter-time, albeit the margin had been trimmed to 10 points, before the Cats finally clicked into gear, booting six goals to one in the final term to clinch a 12.12 (84) to 9.7 (61) win and remain undefeated.
"We were extremely lucky today, there's no doubt about that," Collins said.
"Huntly dominated the midfield for the first three quarters, but we were able to win the footy in the last and finish well.
"I'll be honest, we didn't deserve to win the game, so it's pleasing that we were able to answer the challenge that was thrown at us."
The Cats - who lost hard-nut Jesse Collins (hamstring) early - butchered opportunities in front of goal in the first half, kicking 1.7.
But they were far more efficient after the main break, kicking 11.5.
"Our best player by far today was Tommy Holman down back. Tyler Phillips was great in the middle, Jarod Bacon kicked some goals in the last quarter to help break it open and Jeremy Mundie off half-back was exceptional," Collins said.
While disappointed at letting the opportunity to claim a major scalp slip by, Huntly coach Stacy Fiske was pleased with the endeavour his side showed against one of the competition's powerhouses.
"There was a real feeling of disappointment among the boys in the rooms," said Fiske, who is still sidelined with a hamstring injury.
"We showed today we could match it with one of the best teams in the league.
"I'm really proud of our effort, but at the same time we've got to make sure we get better so that next time when we get ourselves into a position like today we win the game.
"We had a lot of contributors today. Josh Harris was great for us down back; he's stopping his opponent and also creating a lot for us," Fiske said.
"Tyler Miles played a really good game through the middle and won a lot of contested footy and Matty Jeffries was a great target for us up forward kicking four goals."
NORTH BENDIGO v COLBINABBIN
North Bendigo improved to 4-1 as it beat Colbinabbin by six points in a hard-fought grand final re-match at Atkins Street.
Just 17 goals were kicked for the game, with the Bulldogs prevailing 9.10 (64) to 8.10 (58).
The Bulldogs kicked almost half their score in the opening term as they led 5.0 to 1.2 at the first break.
"We came out really well and played the way we had spoken about during the week. We looked really sharp with our quick ball movement," North Bendigo coach Matt Dillon said.
"Colbo is a good side and we knew they'd always come back, which they did and it became a real arm-wrestle."
Defender Daniel Reid drew high praise from Dillon for his game at centre half-back, while forward Dylan Klemm backed up his strong game from the previous week against Heathcote.
Colbinabbin has now lost two in a row, with slow starts among the concerns for coach Julian Bull.
The Grasshoppers have been outscored a combined 10-51 in first quarters of their past two losses to the Bulldogs and White Hills.
"We came out flat and let North get the jump on us as we're getting pretty good at doing, which is frustrating," Bull said.
"North played well in the first quarter and was able to get some easy goals and from there it was hard work for us to get back into it on a ground they don't let you get back in on."
Despite their slow start the Grasshoppers had worked their way back in front by two points at three quarter-time.
Ruckman Lochlan Sirett was the Grasshoppers' best and forward Clint Shields kicked three of their eight goals.
The Grasshoppers were a player down after just five minutes with Daniel Hill's game ending early with a hamstring injury, while Todd Clarke was concussed.
LEITCHVILLE-GUNBOWER v ELMORE
Elmore has strung together back-to-back victories.
The Bloods backed up last week's win over Huntly with a 50-point victory over Leitchville-Gunbower.
The Bloods set the win up with a 10-goal to one first half before going on to prevail 14.10 (94) to 5.14 (44) at Leitchville.
"We spoke about getting scoreboard pressure on them early and we were able to do that in the first half really well," Elmore coach Dylan Friedberger said.
The game started on a sour note for Elmore with Ian Fuller breaking his arm in the first minute.
The Bloods' side included fresh signing Jarrod Stokes - a star of the Northern Territory Football League - for his first game.
"He fitted in just nicely. Being the superstar he is he's going to find the footy and he did that, particularly in the first half. He has great composure and is an A Grade midfielder no doubt," Friedberger said.
Defender Lachlan McKenzie was the Bloods' standout player, Jack Trewick on a wing played well and captain James Harney kicked four goals.
For the third time in their six games consistent on-baller Will Brereton was named best for the Bombers.
CLUB-BY-CLUB SEASON TRACKER:
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