The second round of the TAC Cup saw the Country teams face off in their first encounters for the year whilst the Metro teams met on the Sunday to renew hostilities from last week. Bendigo Pioneers kicked off the round to defeat North Ballarat Rebels at Highgate, running away with the victory after a close first half. The Geelong Falcons showed that they will be another team to beat, overcoming a spirited Murray Bushrangers team despite missing players through AIS duties. Over in Morwell, the Power accounted for the Stingrays in what was a tight contest for three quarters.

The Sunday clashes at Visy saw the young Western Jets topple the Northern Knights in a seven-point thriller whilst the Sandringham Dragons kicked away in a wet, sluggish affair against Eastern Ranges. In the final game of the round, Oakleigh bounced back from its performance last week to narrowly defeat Calder, leaving the Cannons as the only team without a win from two matches.

TAC Cup Round 2

Bendigo Pioneers: 12.18.90
North Ballarat Rebels: 7.6.48
Pioneers goals: O’Meara (3), Hywood (3), Chisari (2), O’Halloran (2), Davie, Heeps
Rebels goals: Brennan (2), Vearing, Mason, Bennett, Gabbe, Robinson
Pioneers best: Cakitaki, Mangan, Chisari, Maher, O’Meara, Hywood
Rebels best: Cassidy, Herbert, Richards, Robinson, Hendy, Bennett

The Bendigo Pioneers kicked off their season in style, defeating the North Ballarat Rebels by 42 points at Highgate Recreation Reserve. After a close first half, the sublime skill of Harry O’Meara and Jordan Mangan saw them kick away and win comfortably. O’Meara produced one of the performances of the TAC Cup so far, kicking three of a possible five goals whilst constantly being used as a link-up player. For the Rebels, overage player Kyle Hendy was too strong in the ruck whilst Lachlan Cassidy and Keegan Mellington were always in the action. Next week the Pioneers travel to Shepparton to take on the Murray Bushrangers whilst the Rebels host the Geelong Falcons in Warrnambool.

BFGN Rising Stars Medal
5 – Harry O’Meara (Bendigo Pioneers)
4 – Lachlan Cassidy (North Ballarat Rebels)
3 – Kyle Hendy (North Ballarat Rebels)
2 – Keegan Mellington (North Ballarat Rebels)
1 – Jordan Mangan (Bendigo Pioneers)

Gippsland Power 12.13.85
Dandenong Stingrays 8.14.62
Power goals: Webb (3), Paredes (2), Scott (2), Keilty (2), Thomas (2), Dennison
Stingrays goals: McCartney (3), Lamb (2), Gardiner, Pearson, Harnett
Power best: Nash, Channing, Muir, Scott, Webb, Patterson
Stingrays best: Foote, Pickess, McCartney, Pearson, Gardiner, Jones

Gippsland Power celebrated a win in their first game of the season, saluting against the Dandenong Stingrays at Morwell Football Ground. The Power were lead by Tom Muir who provided plenty of run and carry off half-back whilst Paul Patterson showed poise and decision making well beyond his years. For the Stingrays, Clayton McCartney was the main man through the midfield and forward despite standing at just 176cm. Whilst both teams were better for the run, they will be hoping to provide a better four quarter performance next week. Gippsland play at home again next week against the Oakleigh Chargers whilst Dandenong travels to Bayswater in an evening game against Eastern Ranges.

BFGN Rising Stars Medal
5 – Tom Muir (Gippsland Power)
4 – Paul Patterson (Gippsland Power)
3 – Clayton McCartney (Dandenong Stingrays)
2 – Lukas Webb (Gippsland Power)
1 – Lachlan Channing (Gippsland Power)

Geelong Falcons 10.16.76
Murray Bushrangers 9.4.58
Falcons goals: Fort (3), McCartin (2), Spokes, Thompson, Sharp, Dixon, Bond
Bushrangers goals: Neagle (2), Gibbons, Devine, Van Berlo, Vescio, Norris, Drummond, Wilson
Falcons best: Boag, Moloney, Fort, Nelson, Bond, Lang
Bushrangers best: Holman, Squire, Sharp, Neagle, Gibbons, Ellis

Geelong Falcons went into the game missing many of their stars due to AIS duties but came away with a hard-fought win. Trailing for the first half, the Falcons booted seven goals to four in the second half to run out winners over the Murray Bushrangers. For the Falcons, Matthew Boag was impressive in the middle whilst Fraser Fort continually presented up forward. Fort booted three goals but could have made a bigger impact had he kicked straight. For the Bushrangers, Nick Holman was easily their best player whilst Kieran Ellis and Jydon Neagle can hold their heads high. Next week the Falcons travel to Warrnambool to take on the Rebels while the Bushrangers meet the Pioneers in Shepparton.

BFGN Rising Stars Medal
5 – Matthew Boag (Geelong Falcons)
4 – Fraser Fort (Geelong Falcons)
3 – Nick Holman (Murray Bushrangers)
2 – Doug Bond (Geelong Falcons)
1 – Kieran Ellis (Murray Bushrangers)

Western Jets 17.7.109
Northern Knights 15.12.102
Jets goals: Manivong (3), Norton (3), Abou-Zeid (2), Burton (2), King (2), Greiser, Appleby, Orr, Ferrari, Myers
Knights goals: Hunt (2), Curnow (2), Turner (2), Haynes (2), McKeown (2), Tardio (2), Bowkett, Switkowski, Langford
Jets best: Greiser, Sicily, Burton, Manivong, Abou-Zeid, Norton
Knights best: Murphy, Bowkett, Turner, Langford, Switkowski, Haynes

The Western Jets went into the match with 10 underage players but came out victorious in a thrilling seven-point win. Despite leading for most of the match, the Jets had to overcome a Northern Knights fight back in the final term in which the Knights almost snatched victory. Trailing by almost six goals, the Knights piled on the pressure and fought back to within a kick before Pete Manivong received a free kick and kicked truly from the goal square to win it for the Jets. Manivong and Mitch Norton were dangerous up forward for the Jets whilst Matthew Haynes was critical for the Knights through the middle. The Jets and Knights travel to Highgate Recreation Reserve next week to face off against the Cannons and Dragons respectively.

BFGN Rising Stars Medal
5 – Mitchell Norton (Western Jets)
4 – Matthew Haynes (Northern Knights)
3 – Pete Manivong (Western Jets)
2 – Kyle Langford (Northern Knights)
1 – Jake Greiser (Western Jets)

Sandringham Dragons: 10.10.70
Eastern Ranges: 7.7.49
Dragons goals: Wilkinson (3), Freeman (2), McLaren, Spencer, Cathcart, Neiwand, Langdon
Ranges goals: Roth (2), Petracca (2), Walker, Apeness, Welsh
Dragons best: Freeman, Amon, Neiwand, Wilkinson, Cathcart
Ranges best: Fisher, Walker, Nielson, Evans, Apeness, Petracca

The Sandringham Dragons remain the only undefeated Metro team after defeating Eastern Ranges by 21 points. It was a slog of a match as the rain poured down, producing only seven goals for the first half. After half time, the skies opened up and so did the scoring to an extent. Trailing by under three goals for most of the match, Eastern Ranges couldn’t bridge the gap despite great performances from Jordan Walker and Cristian Petracca. Whilst Eastern Ranges had a few stars, Sandringham made it a team effort as the likes of Callum Cathcart, Tom Wilkinson, Will Hayes and Tom Langdon worked tirelessly. The Dragons travel to Highgate next week to face the Northern Knights whilst Eastern Ranges meet the Dandenong Stingrays at Bayswater.

BFGN Rising Stars Medal
5 – Jordan Walker (Eastern Ranges)
4 – Christian Petracca (Eastern Ranges)
3 – Callum Cathcart (Sandringham Dragons)
2 – Tom Wilkinson (Sandringham Dragons)
1 – Michael Apeness (Eastern Ranges)

Oakleigh Chargers: 11.14.80
Calder Cannons: 11.7.73
Chargers goals: Polidoros (2), Prowse (2), Kennedy-Harris, Waddell, McKenzie, Scott, Frenetic, Pittonet, Kelly
Cannons goals: Cauchi (4), Walker (3), Allan, Van Der Byl, Merlo, Carboni
Chargers best: Kennedy-Harris, Scott, Beasley, Toohey, Macginness, De Soysa
Cannons best: Jensen, Fery, Clothier, O’Brien, Prestia, Cauchi

The Oakleigh Chargers have bounced back after a disappointing first-round loss to Eastern Ranges with a narrow seven-point victory over the Calder Cannons. Slick midfielder Jay Kennedy-Harris led the way for the Chargers whilst Hugh Beasley was fantastic in defense as was Chris Prowse up forward. For the Cannons, Josh Cauchi booted four goals to add to his six last week as he leads the competition’s goal kicking. Oakleigh will travel to Morwell Football Ground to take on Gippsland whilst Calder visits the Western Jets at Highgate Recreational Reserve.

BFGN Rising Stars Medal
5 – Jay Kennedy-Harris (Oakleigh Chargers)
4 – Josh Cauchi (Calder Cannons)
3 – Chris Prowse (Oakleigh Chargers)
2 – Hugh Beasley (Oakleigh Chargers)
1 – William Macginness (Oakleigh Chargers)

TAC Cup Round 2 fixture
Gippsland Power vs. Oakleigh Chargers (12:00pm, Saturday 6th April at Morwell Football Ground)
Murray Bushrangers vs. Bendigo Pioneers (1:00pm, Saturday 6th April at Deakin Reserve, Shepparton)
Eastern Ranges vs. Dandenong Stingrays (4:00pm, Saturday 6th April at Bayswater Oval)
Northern Knights vs. Sandringham Dragons (11:30am, Sunday 7th April at Highgate Recreation Reserve)
North Ballarat Rebels vs. Geelong Falcons (1:00pm, Sunday 7th April at Reid Oval, Warrnambool)
Western Jets vs. Calder Cannons (2:00pm, Sunday 7th April at Highgate Recreation Reserve)