Sandhurst young gun Cobi Maxted bags nine goals in big win over Castlemaine

The Dragons dominated the Camp Reserve clash with 12 goalkickers on their sheets while their defence restricted the Magpies to just seven goals for the day.

Hurst key forward Cobi Maxted with nine majors actually outscored the Maine on his own while Blair Holmes and James Coghlan bobbed up with three goals apiece.

Maxted turned in a master class landing majors from set shots, kicks from a long way out and brilliant snaps where he bent the ball back on the run.

Most productive in Castlemaine's forward half was Zac Denahy who nailed three goals, including the very first one of the day in the opening 90 seconds.

Then the Dragons got going with bursts of 10 goals and then nine in the second and final terms, kicking to the pavilion end, on their way to a 27.18 (180) to 7.2 (44) victory.

After Denahy's opening minute major the Dragons fired up with Lee Coghlan, Alex Wharton and James Coghlan busy in the midfield match-ups.

Maxted had five goals to his name by the midway point of the second stanza with three coming from set shots, including a low 'fizzer'.

Jed Zimmer joined the goal rush with an accurate long shot from the 50m line while Holmes capped off a chain of passes after taking a simple chest mark.

The Magpies just couldn't control the fleet of Dragon running players, although Brodie Byrne did take full advantage of a free kick in red time at the scoreboard end to nail Castlemaine's second goal.

The Sandhurst goal-kicking master class rolled on in the third term, albeit not as prolific as when kicking to the pavilion end.

And the Pies had their best quarter in the third. They added four straight majors with Denahy taking his tally to three with goals from a set shot and a fine running goal to cap off a chain of handpasses.

Brad Keogh nailed one of the goals-of-the-day for the Maine when he sank an acute angle shot from wide out on the railway line flank.

Still the Dragons pressed on. Wharton banged home the Hurst's 14th major from straight in front while Maxted was up to eight, individual six-pointers with a long shot after drilling a goal from a free kick.

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And then the floodgates really rolled open for the Dragons in the final quarter.

They added 9.5 with Castlemaine's only response coming from an around-the-corner snap from Kaleb McBride deep in time-on.

Earlier in the final term, the Dragons had been on their way to a massive score.

Wharton's high shot sneaked home over the outstretched hands of Castlemaine's defenders, Holmes snapped a classy left-footer, Jake McLean's flying shot bent back for full points while Lachlan Murdoch also nailed a Hurst goal with an on-the-run flying kick.

With such an even spread of Dragons' players able to nail full points, South Bendigo's brains trust will be flat out planning defensive roles ahead of Sunday's elimination final.

READ MORE: Saturday Scoreboard - all the scores from around the region

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