GVL goes down swinging

THE Goulburn Valley League was outgunned by the Ovens and Murray League's firepower in Saturday's interleague clash at Mooroopna. O&M kicked an impressive 18.11 (119) to GV's 9.10 (64) to take the win and retain the Ash–Wilson trophy in a match that felt closer than the scoreboard showed. O&M's midfielder Joe Richards from Wangaratta was awarded best on ground, with co–star Leigh Williams bagging five majors up forward. Mansfield's Patty Marks impressed in the losing GVL side, as did backline boss Jack Hutchins, whose return home to the Eagles' side this year has been most welcome. GVL came out strong in the opening stanza, putting the first score on the board. But O&M countered, booting four straight to carry the edge at the first change. It was much of the same in the second, until the GVL clawed its way back into contention, trailing by just 20 points at the turn. A quick goal in the third saw GVL hopes reignited, but the O&M train rolled on, too strong for too long, and a blowout fourth term sealed the deal on a 55 point win. Mansfield's Brett Mahoney was bestowed the honour of captaining the GVL side and said that although things didn't go as well as they wanted, it was a great test and a closer tussle for the bulk of the game than the final scores showed. "I think we had our turns of momentum and had our chances," said Mahoney. "We just probably didn't make the most of opportunities going forward, maybe lacked a bit of potency. "I would have thought they're the number one country footy league, so it's always good to test yourselves against them to see where you're at as players and a league. "Having the Mansfield boys playing was awesome. "Jack (Hutchins) did his usual thing and played really well down back, he was really strong in defence. "Patty (Marks) did well down there too; he was meant to be on the wing but got thrown back and did a really good job. "It's just a good experience to expose you to a higher level, representing not only the league but Mansfield as well. "The Eagles have started our season well, so this helps to build that confidence and hopefully spurs on a few of the younger kids to play interleague in the next couple of years. It was the O&M and GV'S first meeting for five years, and much welcomed said O&M coach Damian Sexton. "It was great to have interleague back," said Sexton. "There's a bit of pressure on to get everything together, the work for it all probably started 12 weeks ago. "The league's professionalism is as good as you get but it was just good to put it all together and come out with the result that we did. "You definitely feel a bit of fulfilment from it." GV goal kickers: Lachlan Smith 4, Steven Stroobants 2, Zac Keogh, Brad Ryan, Kaine Herbert. GV best on: Zac Keogh, Lachlan Smith, Patrick