Benalla may not have recorded its second Goulburn Valley League win for 2025 at the weekend, but the Saints made sure Rochester had to work for the victory, competing hard to once again be right in the contest until the final siren.

While the Tigers proved their class in the second half to draw away, Benalla put together a solid four-quarter effort against a a highly-fancied opponent, eventually going down 11.4 (70) to 15.14 (104).

As has been the case in the previous few weeks, it was the Saints that got the jump on their opposition, booting 4.1 for the opening term – three of which came from the boot of boom recruit Nathan Wright — compared to an inaccurate 3.4 from the Tigers, as the home side enjoyed a three-point lead heading into the first break at Benalla Showgrounds.

In line with recent performances, Benalla proved it is a vastly improved side in comparison to last season, with Jarrad Waite’s troops continuing the fight in the second term, matching Rochester’s two goals, although the Tigers did manage to climb ahead by the barest of margins at the main break, leading 39 to 38.

It would be in the third term, the so-called premiership quarter, that the Tigers broke through, putting five goals on the board while keeping Benalla to two, as the classy Tigers began to assert themselves on the contest, with Hamilton brothers Wil (three goals) and Cooper (one goal) hitting the scoreboard, although it would be the third of them, Hugh, that took the game beyond Benalla’s reach in the final term.

With a 19-point lead still well within the reach of a Benalla comeback, Hugh Hamilton put the game beyond doubt with a three-goal performance in the final term to make it six for the contest, while Nash Ramage and Wil Hamilton also added one each in the face of Benalla’s three for the term, as the Tigers stormed home in the second half to record the 34-point win, their fifth of the year.

There are plenty of positives in the loss for Benalla, however, as Wright yet again put forward his case for the best recruit of the season right across the GVL, booting a game-high eight goals as Benalla’s best in the loss and taking his season tally to 20, two shy of the league lead through six rounds.

Nick Warnock was superb yet again, taking eight marks and a team-high nine intercept possessions, while Chris Welsh had another brilliant outing as has become the norm, racking up 34 disposals and five clearances, while Cooper Gracie and Jordan Wolff rounded out the best.

The Saints will look to regroup this weekend and notch win number two against Euroa at Memorial Oval, in what shapes as an entertaining clash between two sides that have each won just the once so far in 2025.

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Saturday, 15th March 2025

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