HAMILTON Kangaroos has recorded its best win for the season with a thumping 48-point victory against arch rivals Portland at Melville Oval, 13.14 (92) – 5.10 (40).

It was the last game that would be staged at the venue before the $8M redevelopment of Melville Oval begins in a couple of weeks’ time, and the home side had to battle not only their opponents but also the weather which was not conducive to skilful play.

As a cold front crossed Victoria from the west, the players were faced with a gale blowing from the Coleraine Road end of the ground for all but the last quarter, and the Roos kicked into it in the opening term.

From the opening ball-up, the visitors swept the ball upfield and the first goal came in just 90 seconds, but the home side didn’t allow that to faze them as it was the only major they allowed the Tigers for the term.

Despite kicking into what seemed to be a five or six goal wind, Hamilton Kangaroos was able to consistently move the ball forward with penetrating kicking and crisp handball that belied the conditions.

At the end of the term the Kangaroos had kicked five goals into the wind to open a 24-point lead that would be telling for the rest of the afternoon.

“I told the boys in my pre-game talk that it was going to be wet, and the ball would get heavy so we needed to start well and kick the ball early,” Hamilton Kangaroos coach, Hamish Waldron said.

“I was really pleased with how we started, kicking five goals in the first quarter, and kicking into that gale.

“We were clean with our handling and won the ball on the inside before getting it to the running players on the outside.”

As the Roos swapped ends and ran with the wind it was expected they would use it much more than Portland had, but the Tigers were determined to get back into the game and the contest became a real slog as the centre of the ground became a quagmire that seemed to swallow not only the ball but players too.

Only three goals were added by the two teams with the Kangaroos kicking two of these to extend its lead to 34 points at the long break.

Portland returned to kicking with the wind in the third quarter and they improved the ball movement into the forward line but the kicking for goal left a lot to be desired as only three majors resulted from nine shots on goal and the margin was reduced to 25 points at the last change of ends.

The final term saw the Kangaroos gain control of the ball more and their resulting use of the Sherrin saw the goals at the Alexandra House end of the ground were peppered throughout the term.

While the Kangaroos have been guilty of poor kicking for goal in their history, it wasn’t the case on Saturday as the conditions didn’t suit any team.

Yes, there was some set shots that were off target, but most shots came from broken play and were snapped quickly across the body under  with a very wet, muddy ball in very windy conditions.

Darcy Russell dominated the forward line with four goals and was a constant threat either in the air or at ground level, and he took mark of the day as well as he soared over his opponent on the half forward flank.

 Ethan Knight, Taine Morris, Jack Jennings, Charlie Alexander, Darcy Russell and Zach Burgess were judged as being the best for the Kangaroos with Knight dominating the centre with over 30 possessions and eight tackles.

Burgess laying 10 tackles up forward to keep the ball in the Roos forward line and Jennings, playing off half back had 22 touches, as the Roos youngsters put in great performances.

The Tigers were well served by David Denboer, Ben Malcolm, Jake Wilson, Toby Jennings, Marcus England and Paul Procter who never stopped all day for the visitors.

Hamilton Kangaroos will now play its remaining home games for 2023 at Dunkeld Recreation Reserve with the first of these against Koroit on 12 August in round 16.

Reserves

HAMILTON Kangaroos saw off a determined Portland with a gritty 11-point victory, 6.4 (40) – 4.5 (29), that has the Roos within touching distance of the top five.

The home side hung on to claim the points despite being kept scoreless in the final term after setting up the win with a solid first term in very tough conditions.

The Roos came out and put three goals on the board in that first quarter, to put a 14-point gap on the visitors who came back in the second term to close within nine points by the long break.

When the teams returned to the field the Kangaroos kept Portland scoreless in the pivotal third stanza as they opened the biggest margin of the match with 25 points separating the teams by the last change of ends.

The Tigers were not a spent force however as they repaid their hosts by keeping them scoreless in the final term, but the gap was just too big to close as they fell short by 11 points.

Jason Hawker, Hugh Douglas, Harrison Killen, Luke Barnes, James Whyte and Harry English were the best of a good team performance for the home side, while the visitors were well served by Kane Johnson, Lachlan Stephens, Chad Finck, Tarkyn Smith, Zac Stuchbery and Brock Pengilly.

Under-18.5

THE final day at Melville Oval in its current guise didn’t start well for Hamilton Kangaroos as the home side fell to Portland, 2.5 (17) – 7.6 (48).

With the Roos not kicking its first goal until the final term, they were never really in the game as the Tigers belied their lowly ladder spot of ninth before the game began, with the victory lifting the Tigers to eighth and in danger of dropping from the top five should the team continue to play as poorly.

Bailey Baker, Marcus Matuschka, Hunter Plush, Jake Hardy and Lachlan Rees tried their best for the Roos while Darcy Campbell, Kodi Jones, Broque Field, Kostya Vallance, Jake Tunstall and Jordan Heinze were far to good for the hosts.