PORTLAND’S senior footballers suffered a setback on Saturday, going down 21.16 (142) to 8.9 (57) against a much-improved Port Fairy outfit at Hanlon Park.
The Seagulls hit the ground running in the first term of the Hampden league clash, breaking out to a seven goal to two first term, with the Tigers placed firmly on the back foot.
Portland was able to stem the bleeding in the second quarter, keeping their opposition to just a further two goals while booting two of their own.
Forwards Will Hunter and Sam Hampshire, the latter of which also had stints in the ruck, continued to present well and were able to capitalise on some of their opportunities.
However, the highlight of the quarter was Port Fairy full-forward Jason Rowan kicking his 1021st career Hampden Football League goal to break Tony Russell’s record for most career goals in the Hampden competition.
Trailing by five goals at half time, the Tigers had an opportunity to build on a decent second term and bring the margin closer in the third.
Unfortunately, it went the opposite way, with Port Fairy piling on nine goals to four for the term to break the game wide open.
In spite of the best efforts of midfielders Toby Jennings, Daniel Falcone, Marty Curtis and Connor Peters, as well as skipper Josh Edwards down back who was returning from injury, the Tigers continued to slip further and further off the pace.
The frenetic scoring pace slowed in the final term, but ultimately the damage was done as the Seagulls ran away with an easy victory.
Portland senior coach Jarrod Holt struggled to find the right words after the loss, saying it felt like a step backwards for his side.
“We’ve put in a good month of footy, even if we haven’t got the results, it felt like we were getting somewhere,” Holt said.
“It just feels like we’ve taken a step back, and to be honest I’m not really sure where we go from here at this stage.
“I always try to be positive, but under these circumstances it’s tough to feel that way.”
Holt gave credit to Port Fairy for their turn in fortune as compared to 2022, but said his focus right now is squarely on figuring out how his side can get better.
“Credit to them… but not to be rude but my focus is exclusively on how we can get better from here,” Holt said.
“I don’t have the answers right now, but we’ll figure something out.”
Other games
Hamilton Kangaroos claimed their first win of the 2023 Hampden season, taking down Camperdown by a slim margin, 13.4 (82) to 10.18 (78).
The Magpies were all over the Roos in the early going, taking a 33-point lead into half time.
The Roos showed a great deal of fight to get back into the game, closing the gap in the third before coming over the top in the last quarter.
Hamish Cook, Deacon White, Cameron Pither, Will Povey, Ethan Knight and Bailey Baker were best for the Roos, while Sam Gordon, Joshua Place, Jonty Lafferty and Cameron Spence were named for the Magpies.
In another nail-biter, Koroit took home the spoils by two points against Terang-Mortlake Bloods, winning 14.12 (96) to 13.16 (94).
The Bloods got out to a 26-point lead by quarter time, before the Saints reined them back in in the second term.
From there it was a back-and-forth affair, with Terang-Mortlake remaining in front until the very last kick of the day, as Koroit’s Clem Nagorcka won a free kick and slotted the goal after the siren.
Paddy O’Sullivan, James Gow, Liam Hoy, Mitchell Lloyd, Mac Petersen and Nagorcka were named in the Saints’ best.
The Bloods got solid performances from Lewis Taylor, Rhys Buck, Kane Johnstone, Lachlan Wareham, Ryley Hutchins and Gus Bourke.
In other results, South Warrnambool got the best of Cobden 11.16 (82) to 6.7 (43), while North Warrnambool Eagles defeated Warrnambool 13.15 (93) to 9.5 (59).
Reserves and under-18.5s
Portland’s reserves claimed their second win of the season against the Seagulls, coming away with a 9.6 (60) to 5.4 (34) victory.
The Seagulls were more effective in front of goal early, taking a slim one-point advantage into half time.
However, the Tigers hit back with a big third term, before pressing their ascendancy in the last quarter to take a strong win.
Zac Stuchbery, Lachlan Stephens, Beau Skinner, Benjamin Harding, Marcus England and Dale Churchill were named in their best.
The Tigers’ under-18.5 outfit had less success, going down 5.15 (45) to 4.4 (28).
The Seagulls’ wayward kicking helped keep Portland in the contest, however the Tigers were ultimately unable to hang on for the win. Lachlan Compton, Mitchell Finck, Kodi Jones, Tom Burns, Noah Nicholls and Ty Matters were in Portland’s best.
