VIC Metro continued its winning start to the Under 16 national carnival, overcoming a wayward start to outgun South Australia 5.15 (45) to 3.6 (24) on the Southport mud pool.

Rain from the day’s previous game had cleared but it was still wet under foot, making for a messy game early on. A tight opening term saw reigning champions SA take a narrow lead into the first break, with Matthew Roberts the only player to find the big sticks after he pulled down a strong grab deep inside the 50. It was a wasteful quarter for Metro as they struggled to grasp and make use of the slippery pill, only managing six behinds to SA’s 1.2. After getting out to as much as 0.9 in the following stanza, Blake Howes finally put Metro on the board with a cool set shot conversion and added another on the run shortly after. Lachlan Benton made it three in quick succession to see the Victorians break out to a 17-point half time lead on the back of a fruitful closing 10 minutes.

A light drizzle welcomed the sides as they readied up for the second half, with the weather having the opposite effect on the scoreboard and drying it up. The quarter was played between the arcs, with players muddied up and killing the ball across the near-side wing boundary. Try as they did, South Australia could not quite find the points to match their better control of territory – going scoreless in the term. On the other hand, Metro made good on their fewer chances to storm four goals ahead going into the final break, with Lachlan Brooks’ classy goal the only major for the term.

Despite the margin and low-scoring nature of the game, SA would not let in and had a heap of momentum after skipper Jason Horne’s early goal. With the run of the green on their side, the tri-colours just fell short of mounting their comeback, with Morgan Ferres’ goal on the 15-minute mark proving too little, too late. Metro broke through with a goal of their own to seal the deal as Brooks added his second for the day to see his side run out 21-point winners.

Metro had a wealth of contributors in a big effort across the board, with Brooks one of their leaders on the back of 23 disposals and two goals from midfield. Howes was the only other multiple goal kicker, with his two majors in the second term setting up Metro’s win. Tyreece Leiu led his side’s disposals with 24, while Ward enjoyed a big first half up forward to finish with 22 touches, Tyler Sonsie was clean through midfield with his 21, and skipper Josh Sinn had 19 – including five clearances.

For South Australia, Roberts thrived in the wet to amass 31 disposals and seven inside 50s – head and shoulders above the rest. Thorne led bravely after copping a knock to have 15 disposals, eight tackles and a goal, with Isaiah Dudley (20 disposals, 10 tackles) and Cooper Murley (20 disposals) others to mix time between forward and midfield well.

VIC METRO 0.6 | 3.10 | 4.11 | 5.15 (45)
SOUTH AUSTRALIA 1.2 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 3.6 (24)

GOALS:

Vic Metro: B. Howes 2, L. Brooks 2, L. Benton.
South Australia: M. Roberts, J. Thorne, M. Ferres.

ADC BEST:

Vic Metro: J. Goater, L. Brooks, T. Sonsie, J. Ward, J. Sinn
South Australia: M. Roberts, J. Horne, I. Dudley, C. Murley, L. Thomas