A Warrnambool teenager has led the Hampden league to a comfortable under 17 interleague victory in wet conditions on Saturday.
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Reggie Mast was awarded the Stephen Anderson medal for best on ground, with his physicality through the midfield helping the Bottle Greens to a 9.11 (65) to 4.7 (31) win against Ballarat.
Playing as an inside midfielder, Mast was well-suited to the wetter conditions at Mars Stadium before he was deployed behind the ball in the final term to a halt a possible Ballarat comeback.
"He was a bigger-bodied mid, he got his hands to it and he was clean and took a few good marks," coach Brett Taylor said of Mast.
A wet and slippery first half made it tough for both sides to showcase their best football, with the Hampden league holding a seven-point lead at half time.
Three quick goals to open the third quarter gave the Bottle Greens a comfortable buffer, which they held late in the game when Ballarat had the wind at its back.
Coach Brett Taylor praised his side's ball use, particularly in the second half as the rain receded.
"There was a scoring end, we had it the first and third quarters, and we just made the most of it," he said. "Ballarat picked up their intensity in that second quarter.
"But I was pretty happy with the overall effort of our guys, we played pretty much 100 percent of the game."
Taylor said picking a best six was a hard task, with Jaiden Wells (Warrnambool), Gus Walsh (Cobden), Myles Sinnott (Camperdown) all impressing on-ball alongside Mast.
Up forward, small forwards Jonty Lafferty (Camperdown), Mitch Ryan (Port Fairy) and Ned Roberts (Terang Mortlake) impressed Taylor in the wet.
"I thought they created a fair bit of havoc," Taylor said. "Their pressure, they could keep the ball in the forward line. It probably wasn't the day for tall forwards but they presented all day."
The coach added the backline was "magic" and hardly got beaten all day.
"I'd say they all beat their opponents quite comfortably today, the back six, and you could see the run and carry they gave us once it dried out, they were always attacking," Taylor said.
Final score: Hampden 9.11.65 def Ballarat 4.7.31
Best: Reggie Mast, Jaiden Wells, Gus Walsh, Jonty Lafferty, Myles Sinnott, Ned Roberts.
Goals: Bailey Osborne 2, Ned Roberts 2, Reggie Mast 2, Jonty Laffery 1, Kodi Jones 1, Mason Porter 1.
Meg Saultry
Sports journalist at the Warrnambool Standard, with a strong interest in Australian rules football, basketball and women in sport.
Sports journalist at the Warrnambool Standard, with a strong interest in Australian rules football, basketball and women in sport.
