Round 10 - Sunday June 22, 2008
Riverina Football League
Venue: Griffith Exies Oval 2.10pm
Umpires: Duncan Potts and Scott Crowley (RUA) 
Griffith ............... 6.5 .. 6.6 .. 7.12 .. 7.13 (55) 
Narrandera ...... 1.0 .. 6.2 .. 8.5 .. 10.6 (66)
GRIFFITH: Dean Catanzariti, James Smith, Myles Bunn; Jason Bertacco, Jeremy Way, Jonathon Gastin; Matthew Kenny, Michael Johns, Luke Piccolo; Jack Geddes, Jeff Mickan, Michael Tyndall; Kris Duncan, Craig Conlan, Brett Davis; Shaun Curran, Michael Duncan, Brett Owen; Ben Ford, Simon Spiers, Chris McGann*
NARRANDERA IMPERIAL: Peter Bloomfield, Chris Smith, Stuart Hutchins; Brent Rose, Jonathon Dawson, Chris Walsh; John Ingram, Jonathon Doyle, Peter Heath; Shaun Gehringer, Damon Burden, Nic Hetherington; Scott Martin, Tim Sullivan, Liam Richmond; Adam Bourke, Stephen Irons, Jamie Grintell (c-c); Chris Downes, Matthew Bolton, Hayden Hutchins 
GOALS
Griffith: M Duncan 2, K Duncan 2, J Bertacco, B Davis, J Gastin 
Narrandera: L Richmond 3, B Rose 2, N Hetherington 2, T Sullivan, J Grintell 
BEST PLAYERS
Griffith: J Bertacco, D Catanzariti, J Smith, M Johns, B Owen, L Piccolo 
Narrandera: N Hetherington, P Bloomfield, B Rose, J Grintell, J Doyle, C Walsh

SENIOR DEBUT: Chris McGann

A summary of match report, with thanks
A late rally from Narrandera Eagles has snatched victory from the Griffith Swans in a nail-bitingly tense game at Exies Oval, the final score, 10.6 (66) to 7.13 (55). The Swans led consistently from the opening whistle to the final stanza, after a blitz of goals in the first quarter.

But Griffith couldn't stop the margin dwindling in the second half. An opening salvo in the first quarter of the game saw the home team take a dominant lead of 34 to 6, with strong performances from Mick Duncan, Jonathan Gastin and Brett Davis. But within the first minutes of the second quarter the possession went to the Eagles, with more kicks for the sticks on target.

The away side were quickly back in the game, with the scoreboard at half-time whistle an uncomfortable 42-38 to the Swans.

The level of accuracy in the Swans side dipped severely towards the end of the game, with the home side failing to stop haemorrhaging points to Narrandera. Swans coach Gerard Toscan was unhappy with his team's performance.

"We just couldn't kick straight enough," he said. "I thought the boys in the last quarter did pretty well but couldn't convert their efforts into points." A free kick from Narrandera's Brent Rose put the Swans' lead at an unsettling close seven points.

Within minutes, the Swans' lead had dwindled to just one point leading into the fourth quarter. But accusations of inconsistency from the umpires had many on the Swans side up in arms. Toscan said the loss of a number of players early in the game had a bad impact on the team. "We lost Jeremy Way early, which was a bit telling for the rest of the game," he said.

Jonathan Gastin who was going really well had to come off, and I think we lost a bit when both those guys left.

(By Scott Hazlewood - The Area News, Monday June 23, 2008).

 

OTHER MATCHES - SAT: Mangoplah-CUE 3.10 (28) def by Wagga 9.13 (67), North Wagga 4.3 (27) def by Turvey Park15.23 (113); SUN: Eastern Hawks 7.12 (54) def by Coolamon 12.17 (89), Leeton-Whitton 8.9 (57) def Ganmain-GGM 4.9 (33).

Reserves: Narrandera 11.11 (77) def Griffith 5.6 (36) 
Goals: R Bridgen, M Clark, R Bull, D Pasin, M Butcher
Best players: M Cappello, C Lugton, D Keenan, D Pasin, B Woolner, R Best
Under 18: Narrandera 11.12 (78) def Griffith 5.9 (39)
Goals: J Tyrell, D Bruce, B Jaffrey, K Ratcliffe, W McLean
Best players: J Taylor, J Tyrell, D Bruce, J Wade, T Allen.