By Tara Murray
Lalor got to sing the team song for a second time this season thanks to a hard-fought win against Reservoir against Northern Football League division 3.
In the battle between the bottom two sides, the Bloods emerged the victors after getting off to a fast start.
They won 11.13 (79)-6.12 (48).
Bloods coach Gary Cutler said the victory was reward for effort.
“It was nice to get the win,” he said. “It’s been a long time – nine weeks is a long time between drinks. It’s pleasing for the players and the club.”
Cutler said that having beaten Reservoir earlier in the season gave them some confidence, they didn’t take the Mustangs lightly.
The Bloods kicked the only four goals of the first quarter.
The Mustangs came back at them, but the Bloods were always able to maintain a solid margin.
Cutler said the start set them up and the players stood up when required.
“At the start of the day, I asked for two per cent more and I felt that everyone had done at least that,” he said.
“No disrespect to Reservoir, I thought we were in control all day.
“They did have a crack at the start of the fourth quarter with a strong breeze.
“We kicked a couple of goals against the flow to steady. The boys showed some good resilience.”
Cutler said having six players return to the side had made an impact. But there were also three key outs.
Tim Murphy, Alex Dao, Robert Todd, Daniel Moore and Demetrios Constantinou were among the inclusions.
Ben Curtiss and Todd were the best for the Bloods, helping control the midfield.
Daniel Ballantyne, who played at full-back, was another standout.
Cutler has signed on for next season as he helps the Bloods to continue to rebuild.
“The club asked me to go around again,” he said.
“I have some unfinished business and … we are already re-signing players and don’t think we will lose too many.
“And we’re already speaking to players from other clubs not in our division. We think we need to bring in a couple of older heads.”
Lalor will this week face Eltham, with Cutler hoping for a win that would give the players more confidence.
