It was a case of missed opportunities for the EDFL representative team on Saturday, as it butchered the ball in a 37-point loss to the Northern Football League in the metro championships at Visy Park.
Looking for the chance to move into the top two associations in the AFL Victoria rankings, the Essendon District Football League players struggled to contain well-drilled opponents and didn’t take the few chances they had. The final score of 13.9 (87) to 7.8 (50) was a fair reflection of the gulf between the two sides, with prolific EDFL forwards Dean Galea and Patrick Rose kept quiet by the Northern League’s best defenders.
It was far closer early as the teams battled it out through the middle for supremacy, with Jonathon Morris and Nat Caruso looking very good in the opening term.
PICTURE GALLERY: NFL v EDFL metro championships
But the NFL took the ball forward with greater precision, spotting up big man Cameron Cloke on numerous occasions as the fourth-ranked NFL went into the first break with a 13-point buffer.
The EDFL had its chances to get back into the game in the second term and started to control play, but some poor forward 50 entries gave its undersized goal kickers no chance in marking duels and the NFL rebounded to score at the other end.
Tempers flared as the game started to drift away from the EDFL, with both sides taking the chance to throw their weight around.
The NFL won every quarter and will now move to second in the rankings. It will have the chance to take on the VAFA next year for a crack at top spot. The EDFL slid to fifth and will play sixth-placed Southern Football League.
