Ouyen United 2.0 6.6 7.8 12.13 (85)
South Mildura 3.3 4.3 6.7 6.7 (43)
GOAL KICKERS: OUYEN: J. Daly 4, D. Willsmore 3, S. Brown, C. Eaton, P. Sherry, K. Stevens, B. Vallance 1. SOUTH MILDURA: A Gauci 2, M Lutze, K. McDonald, B. Munn, T. Fiorillo 1.
BEST: OUYEN: C. Eaton, S. Brown, D. Willsmore, B. Vallance, J. Daly, J. Monaghan. SOUTH MILDURA: T. Curtis, D. Scullino, N. Nolan, J. Parker, M. Fitzgerald, D. Loveridge.
MIDFIELD gun Dallas Willsmore led Ouyen United to an impressive seven-goal win against a plucky South Mildura in tricky conditions at Mildura Sporting Precinct on Saturday.
Willsmore, who spent five years on AFL club Hawthorn’s list from 2014-2018, showed off his silky ball skills on the big, wind-swept premier oval at MSP.
He booted three goals, but more telling was how he brought his teammates into the game in setting up strong attacking forays for the Kangas, who remain in third place on the ladder with a 4-2 win-loss record.
The Bulldogs set up an early lead with the wind at their backs, coming from the Deakin Avenue end, before the visitors rallied with a polished four-goal second quarter to led by 15 points at half-time.
Willsmore, a lovely left-foot kick, was instrumental in the Kangas’ dominance in the lead-up to the main break.
Along with the long-striding Cal Eaton, who booted a 60m, wind-assisted second-quarter goal, Willsmore was seemingly everywhere on the park.
He flooded back in the third quarter to help the team’s defence.
In fact, this quarter was the turning point in the game.
The Kangas defended superbly against the wind, holding the Bulldogs – who remain winless in 2022 – to just two goals.
Kangas co-coach Scott Grigg paid tribute after the game to both Willsmore and ex-SANFL player Kaine Stevens, another strong contributor.
“They’re not good players because of where they’ve been in the past,” Grigg said.
“They’re good players because they turn up every week and they make things happen.
“On a tricky day like today, you can turn your heels up and dissolve into everyone else, or you continue to work hard and bring other guys into the game.
“This is what both of them do so well. They buy into the ‘we’ mentality each week.”
He said there was a strong focus on the players being “judged by their actions” in Saturday’s clash.
“Effort is always No.1 of what’s being judged, and it was certainly there from everyone,” Grigg said.
“I thought all 22 players played their role. We ended up with no bench in the last quarter after being down to one player (on the bench) halfway through the third quarter.
“Mentally and physically, the effort was amazing.”
Asked for the strategy behind the decisive third quarter, he said that maintaining possession with short passes into the wind paid dividends.
“One of our strengths is the ability to maintain possession – and it gave the group belief that we can maintain possession of the footy even when it’s windy,” Grigg said.
“We were able to grow from it in the third quarter and use that same methodology in the last quarter to get the ball deeper inside 50 and to create scoring opportunities.”
In an ominous warning for the rest of the competition, he said the Kangas’ best was yet to come.
“We’re going to be a much better team in the second half of the year, because we’ve got a lot of new players in the group and there’s players who have different roles now,” he said.
“The improvement in the group is coming from each player playing their role much better. Instead of ‘see ball and get ball and chase the footy around’, each player has a different role, whether it’s forward pressure or a defensive role to shut down a player.
“So the guys are starting to understand what’s being expected of them. And a greater percentage of our group are meeting those expectations.”
The Bulldogs were licking their wounds in the dressing room post-game after a 0-6 start to the season.
However, their strong contested ball effort and better ball movement shows that a win is just around the corner.
Playing coach Ben Dalton, who will be sidelined with a shoulder injury for another fortnight, said there “positive signs” for his team, who lost key forward Kevin McDonald to a dislocated shoulder injury in the final term.
“It was another one of those games where we’ve played three quarters of competitive football,” Dalton said.
“We’re a young, inexperienced side and we need to learn how to grind out wins, which means competing hard for the four quarters.
“But the signs of improvement we’re showing each week is the real positive.
“We’ve been in the contest most games this season, but it’s just those 15-minute lapses that have cost us, which happened again late today.”
“Blokes like Tyler (Curtis) and Dom (Scullino) had great games for us today, and now we’re getting more consistent football out of the younger players.”
Asked what he said to the players post-game, Dalton said: “The message was that 0-6 hurts.
“The season is clearly not panning out the way we thought it could be.
“Things like injuries and illness have also hurt us. But in saying that, 0-6 looks worse than the way we’ve played.
“We’re better than that. Four losses under 20 points, and at least a couple of these would have gone our way if we’d played for the four quarters.
“Our message is that we’re building each week and the intensity’s there.
“If we can get that first win, we’ll celebrate it and hopefully that will get that enjoyment back in the group.”
