Magpies swoop in to steal derby win

Straight kicking and midfield dominance ensured the Busselton Magpies flew home to snatch the Busselton Toyota Cup from the Augusta Margaret River Hawks by 24 points on Saturday at Gloucester Park.

The South West Football League Cape to Cape derby lived up to the expectation with a hard fought battle in the midfield going the way of the Hawks early as they jumped out to a 19-point lead at quarter time.

The Hawks won several clearances through Simon Moore and Mitch Lynn with veteran half forward Ben Noakes slotting two quick goals as the Hawks kicked five in the first term.

But the scoring dried up for the Hawks after the first spell as their recurrent inaccuracy again left the door ajar for a rampant Busselton midfield led by Jackson Arbon, Mitch Tenardi and Ethan Maguire.

Busselton captain Arbon showed why he is considered the heart and soul of the Magpies outfit with a classy finish after the half time siren reducing the deficit to only 10 points despite the Hawks early dominance.

An onslaught of hard running and high disposal efficiency met the Hawks after the main break with Maguire and Tenardi able to break free from their opponents to both kick two important goals.

The Hawks midfield looked sluggish and laboured, turning the ball over regularly at half forward, while Busselton broke into space and hit targets, kicking six goals to one in the premiership quarter.

Trailing by 19 points at three quarter time Hawks coach Matthew Jamieson pleaded with his players to regain their early ascendancy and run over the Pies for a stirring home victory.

But it wasn’t to be, as hard running half forward Austin Styles kicked the first of three Busselton goals in quick succession to begin the final term.

Two late majors to Harry Taylor and Kelvin Lawrence brought some respectability to the scoreboard for the Hawks who at one stage surrendered 11 goals to one.

After the game Busselton coach Dave Lewis was ecstatic with his teams come from behind win.

“We were under the pump but we didn't panic and the boys showed some real resilience. It doesn’t get much better than that,” he said.

“I thought we were able to even up the contest, they were feeding the ball back and sideways but once we took care of that in the second half we got on top and our midfield was fantastic.”

Jamieson was left to rue his sides missed opportunities.

“We dominated inside fifties in the second quarter, into the breeze, I think we had 26 inside fifties to 10 to only be 10 points up at half time,” he said.

“It’s happened to us two weeks in a row now. If you don’t capitalise on your opportunities and they do it puts separation on the scoreboard and our boys have to learn to hang in a bit better.”

The critical win skyrocketed Busselton into the top five with their focus now turning to bottom placed Carey Park at Sir Stuart Bovell Park on Saturday.

Scoreboard Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

Augusta Margaret River 5.2 - 32 6.7 - 43 7.9 - 51 9.12 - 66

Busselton Magpies 2.1 - 13 5.3 - 33 11.4 - 70 14.6 - 90

Goals. Busselton: J. East, M. Tenardi, E. Maguire, A. Styles 2, E. Bowman, T. Thorp, J. Kemp, J. Armstrong, K. Decke, B. Snook. Augusta Margaret River: M. Payne, K. Lawrence, B. Noakes 2, S. Moore, J. Rodgers, H. Taylor.

Best: E. Maguire, M. Tenardi, J. Arbon, B. Noakes, J. McMahon.