Putting a fortnight of tough losses firmly behind them, Benalla Saints have returned to their winning ways with a commanding 82-point victory over Mooroopna on Saturday.
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With the Cats sitting at the bottom of the GV league ladder, the Saints were expected to control the clash, and they did just that on the way to a 5.7 (37) to 17.17 (119) win.
After losing to top three sides Kyabram and Tatura in consecutive weeks, Benalla senior coach James Martiniello said it was good to get back on the winners list against Mooroopna.
‘‘It was good to have a game on our own terms,’’ Martiniello said.
‘‘But full credit to Mooroopna, they kept up the pressure.’’
The Saints were methodical across the four quarters, extending their lead at every break.
For Martiniello, this was the most pleasing outcome of the day.
‘‘The message was to go out and win each quarter,’’ he said.
‘‘If we did that, the scoreboard would look after itself.’’
With Kyabram and Tatura exposing a number of chinks in Benalla’s armour, the win against Mooroopna showed the Saints what they needed to aspire to going forward.
‘‘We just need to maintain what we started,’’ Martiniello said.
‘‘This was a glimpse of what we can do when we’ve got full confidence.
‘‘But we do need to find another gear to challenge those top sides.
‘‘This game was a step in the right direction.’’
With Saints star forward Brody Webster carrying the load in front of the big sticks in recent weeks, Webster had equal support from skipper Jordan Wolff this week, with both men kicking six goals each.
‘‘They were fantastic,’’ Martiniello said.
‘‘I put it on our leaders, this was a must-win game, especially for our positioning on the ladder.
‘‘To get the result, and for our captain to kick four goals in the first quarter, it was fantastic.’’
Among other leaders to stand up were midfield trio David Mennen, Chris Welsh and Will Martiniello, with the latter returning to the side after missing the last round through injury.
‘‘We wanted to make sure we weren’t complacent or let the foot off,’’ Martiniello said.
‘‘They were switched on and lead from the front.’’
Benalla moves into fifth on the ladder after of Round 11, sitting a win clear of falling out of the top six.
They will travel to Deakin Reserve on Saturday to face 11th placed Shepp United, who are coming off a bad loss to Kyabram.
But the Saints are adamant they won’t be complacent after their own big win.
‘‘We don’t take any team lightly,’’ Martiniello said.
‘‘The next few games are vitally important.
‘‘These are winnable games in front of us.
‘‘We need to play our best footy and keep winning to make finals.’’
●Benalla’s reserves team kept Mooroopna goalless in their first half against the Cats to record a 48-point victory on Saturday. Campbell Mccoy snagged five goals, while Corey Saunders and Chris Bamford were named best afield. The win is the Saints third in three weeks and pushes them into eighth, level with sixth on points.
Final score: Mooroopna 5.7 (37) def by Benalla 17.17 (119)
Goal kickers: J. Wolff 6, B. Webster 6, T. O’Brien, M. O’Brien, L. Thompson, P. Warner, D. Mennen
Best players: J. Wolff, W. Martiniello, B. Webster, N. Warnock, D. Mennen, C. Welsh
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