Leongatha Parrots soar to second spot against Moe
LEONGATHA have made a statement and flown into the top two after destroying Moe.
The Parrots produced a four-quarter effort at home to come away with a 114-point win and send shockwaves through the Gippsland League.
Coach Paul Carbis was thrilled with his team’s performance in a game where they wanted to make their presence felt.
“It was a really pleasing result,” he said.
“We knew we had our best team for a while, and it was time to make a statement; we wanted to prove something.”
The home side started the game in a dominant fashion and never looked back.
They turned up the pressure and ensured quick ball movement, overwhelming the Lions.
The game was all but over by half-time, with the Parrots leading 84-21.
“We had to pressure the live play and keep them off the ball,” coach Carbis said.
“We knew we had to keep the ball off them as well and we made sure to move it fast, which helped the forwards and helped us get a result.”
Two of these forwards were Chris Dunne, who had five majors, and Cade Maskell, who had six following his strong performance a week prior.
These two led the way up front and helped their side to a significant lead.
“Cade’s been in some great form and the forwards are really following his lead,” coach Carbis said.
“Dunney was moved up front and paid us back too, so it was good to see him get some reward.”
It wasn’t just the forwards playing their part though, with the defence and midfield applying pressure to their Moe opposition and creating continuous turnovers.
By three-quarter time, after holding Moe to just a goal for the whole of the third term, Leongatha led 115-27.
The momentum continued on in the fourth and the home side came away with a 153-39 win and a huge percentage boost.
“The defence was great for the game and they forced turnovers to give us scoring opportunities,” coach Carbis said.
“You could tell the boys were enjoying it and were keen to keep the momentum going.”
The Parrots will now take on Bairnsdale away from home this week in an attempt to consolidate a top two spot for finals, a matchup Carbis ensures they won’t take lightly.
“Our work isn’t finished, Bairnsdale aren’t easy to beat at home so we’re going to have to have our wits about us to get the points,” he said.
If the team can win that, they will be primed for a strong finals run.
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