Round 6: Port Melbourne make light work of Northern Bullants to claim first victory of the season

It was a sensational Saturday outing as Port Melbourne claimed their first win of the VFL season against the Northern Bullants.

The onlookers at Genis Steel Oval were treated to an absolute goal fest, as the Borough pieced together 23 majors to win by a whopping 99-point margin.

It was a hot contest in the opening term with the Bullants striking first with the opening couple goals.

Ajang Kuol Mun rose up for a lovely overhead to slot the first of the day for Port Melbourne.

Northern were set up very well behind the ball, forcing Port Melbourne into contested marking contests, capitalising on their third major through John Jorgensen.

Archie Manton came alive in the back end of the opening term, providing a boost for the Borough with two crucial goals in a heavily contested opening quarter.

The boys in red and blue went into the initial break with a six-point buffer, thanks to a late Harvey Hooper goal off the back of elite forward pressure.

Early in the second quarter things followed a similar pattern, as the Bullants showed some fight in their own forward half to create a scoring opportunity for Caleb Franks.

Simple unforced errors were costly for the Bullants, opening up chances for Port Melbourne.

Manton mustered up his third goal of the opening half, this one being the easiest of the lot after a costly Bullants turnover in their defensive 50.

After a passage of ten minutes without a goal scored and some high intensity contested football, Port Melbourne’s own Drew Lloyd put through back-to-back goals to boost the lead for his side.

This was swiftly followed by Dominic Bedendo slotting back-to-back majors also, one of which being a sensational boundary snap deep in the pocket.

A goal line mark in the dying seconds of the term for Bedendo secured him his third goal for the quarter, and a big lead of 31 for Port Melbourne at the main break.

The second half was one sided, and the Borough blew the game open.

Kuol Mun was dominant all game in the ruck, winning contest after contest and making Port Melbourne midfielders lives a dream.

Josh Green and Charlie Lazzaro continued to lead from the front for Port Melbourne, dominating and finding the footy all over the field.

The fight from Northern was present around the ground balls, and while they were often first to the ball with numbers at the contest, the ball movement from the Borough was overpowering.

A couple late quarter goals from Jimmy Miller and Lachie Bond brought up a ton for Port Melbourne, entering the final term with a generous 54-point buffer over the Bullants.

Coming into the final thirty minutes of play, the Borough were hoping to simply hold their position, build their lead and their confidence.

Dominating the hitouts (+30) and clearances (+8) for the match, Port Melbourne were simply cleaner at the contest and able to send in repeat entries for the forwards to continue to capitalise on.

Lazzaro was able to stride in and claim an open goal to pair with his 33 disposals for the day.

It was a whole team effort, with eight different Borough players slotting at least one goal, while Bedendo (4) and Manton (5) were the primary scorers.

As the final siren sounded, Port Melbourne had secured their first victorious outcome of the year in a dominant display.

The final score, Port Melbourne 23.17 (155) defeated the Northern Bullants 8.8 (56).

Ajang Kuol Mun was a standout for the Borough; 2 goals, 39 hitouts, 20 touches and 9 clearances for the big ruck.

The two forwards in Dominic Bedendo and Archi Manton were also instrumental with 9 goals between them.

Patrick Fairlie was best on for the losing side, racking up 29 disposals paired with 6 tackles for the Bullants.

A sensational effort from the Borough to claim their first win of the season, but they are looking to back it up as they face last year’s runners-up, the Southport Sharks, up in Queensland next week.

Be sure to tune into what will be a huge game for Port Melbourne to build momentum, facing Southport at 12.05PM on Saturday 10^th May at Fankhauser Reserve.

Written by Oliver Williamson