A dominant second half from Greensborough sealed their first win of the 2023 Division 1 season, defeating Macleod by 29 points at De Winton Park on Good Friday.
Three points separated the two sides at the half before the Boro piled 15 scoring shots to nine, with only inaccurate goalkicking preventing the visitors from producing a greater win than the 11.15 (81) to 7.10 (52) final result.
Greensborough’s three leading goalkickers of 2022 (Zak McCubbin, Tom Bell and Harvey Daniher) are no longer at the club but that didn’t stop the Boro from finding goals through multiple sources, headlined by Thomas Phelan who kicked a career-high four majors.
Skipper Jack Johnston was outstanding inside defensive 50, with his rebounding and decision-making ensuring the Roos got no easy looks at goal.
Former Carlton and St Kilda player Jack Newnes stood out in his first game for the Boro, with two other debutants in Joseph Ayton-Delaney and Charlie Bowes also shining.
The speed of youngster Ethan Luke was a highlight throughout the afternoon meanwhile the ruck duo of Jamie Smith and Nathan Howard was incredibly influential for Greensborough.
On his return to De Winton Park, former Essendon star Michael Hurley kicked two goals within five minutes of play in the second term to give his side what would be their last lead of the match at the 15-minute mark of the term. He played the entire game in the forward line and would be the only multiple-goal scorer from the Roos.
Another highly touted Macleod recruit in Darcy Barden had a big impact on defensive 50, following on from his excellent 2022 season with Lower Plenty, as he took constant intercept marks and produced plenty of spoils to prevent Greensborough attacks. Kurt Manuel and Shane Doherty also stood out for the home side.
As they did on Good Friday last year, the Boro got off to a strong start with Ferronato running into the open goal to kick the first of the match, before Phelan made it back-to-back majors to stretch the early advantage to 18 points after just seven minutes.
James Condello kicked an important settler for the Roos before a third from Phelan kept Greensborough’s three-goal lead intact. Macleod tall James Williams then kicked his first senior goal just minutes before quarter-time to see his side trail by 12 points.
Macleod then produced their best stint of the game in the first half of the second term as they started to take control of the contest. Reid Brandt found the goals eight minutes into the term before two impressive efforts from Hurley inside 50 resulted in goals and saw Macleod take the lead.
Garrard then responded to Hurley’s second major with a goal of his own to help the visitors gain a slight three-point advantage at the main break.
The second half of the match belonged to Greensborough. They could’ve had the game sewn up in the early stages of the third term had they not started the quarter with four straight behinds.
A silky Jack Newnes goal got things going for the away side, with Phelan’s fourth major and a nice finish from speedster Ethan Luke extending the margin to 27 points approaching time on.
In his first game in Macleod colours, ruck Zac Hudson competed hard against the strong Greensborough pair of Howard and Smith, but his highlight came as the siren sounded for three-quarter time when converted a set shot from almost 50 metres out to reduce the deficit 21 points and give his side a chance to come back.
After coach Craig Hayes told his side to abandon structures and play man-on-man in the final term, the Roos came out firing in the opening few minutes of the quarter with some early shots on goal just missing.
But after Ferronato made the most of a Macleod defensive error to kick his second major of the afternoon, the game was all but over. Further goals from Jordon Smith and Rayden Garrard helped seal the 29-point win.
PHOTOS: Nathan William Media (NWM).
