By Lachlan Onions
Kybybolite 11.12 (78) d Penola 8.7 (55)
Penola suffered its fifth loss of the season after Kybybolite came from behind to claim a 23-point win in Round 6 of Kowree Naracoorte Tatiara football.
The game got off to the perfect start for the Eagles when William Clayfield kicked the first goal of the game.
It was a milestone game for Clayfield as he led the team out in his 150th game for Penola.
“He’s a tremendous person on and off the field,” Penola coach Brad Maney said.
“He’s the epitome of someone who gets the absolute most out of their ability.
“If young people want to learn about work-rate and what it takes to get the most out of yourself, then they should look no further than Will.”
The Eagles flew out of the blocks when they kicked six goals in the opening quarter to take an 18-point lead at the first break.
However, the game took a turn for the worse when Penola was held goalless for the next two quarters and Kybybolite fought back to seize control of the game.
The Eagles suffered two injuries to key players in the first quarter which hampered the side for the rest of the game.
“Drew Clayfield is arguably our most important player structurally, so once he went out we really struggled with our forward movement,” Maney said.
Caleb Messenger was yellow-carded in the second quarter which opened the game up for the Tigers.
“That really hurt our forward-line set up and it enabled Kybybolite to get their game going,” Maney said.
At halftime, the Tigers led by one point but the lead increased to 28 points when Kybybolite kicked four goals unanswered in the quarter.
The Eagles kicked two goals in the final quarter but it was only in vain.
“By the end of the final quarter we were just outplayed,” Maney said.
“I thought their midfield worked a bit harder than us and I thought their halfback line really took over in the second and third quarters.
“We couldn’t get the ball past our half-forward line and that was where I felt the game was won and lost.
Maney said he will spend more time in training to focus on bringing the opposition’s momentum to a halt.
He believes that with experience, his side will be able to stop the momentum swings that have cost them games in the last few weeks.
“A lot of these guys have played less than 30 games and the major learning curve in senior football will be in the first 30 games,” he said.
“So we’ve got to be patient with the process.”
It was another dominant performance from Bradley Merrett at centre-half back.
“Brad Merrett was once again fantastic, he would have had more than 15 marks for the day,” Maney said.
“I was also really happy with Caleb Lythgo.
“It was a real breakout game for him, his offensive running from the backline was huge.
“We just hope that becomes his baseline performance and he can improve from there.
Penola is currently on the bottom of the ladder with just one win from six games.
