Round 2 of the senior men’s Barkly Australian Football League delivered a string of dramatic encounters at Purkiss Reserve, with close finishes, standout individual performances, and a one-point classic capping off a thrilling weekend of footy.
Canteen Creek responded to their opening-round loss with a hard-fought 12-point victory over a determined Epenarra Saints outfit. The Blues set the tone early, slotting two unanswered goals in the first quarter. Although the Saints responded in the second, Canteen Creek held a 13-point lead at the main break.
Epenarra surged in the third term, booting three goals to two to cut the margin to a single straight kick. But the Blues steadied in the final quarter, outscoring the Saints two goals to one to seal the win. Charlie Thompson, Owen Mick, and Kingsley Neal were instrumental in the Blues’ performance, while Zedeiak Edwards impressed for the Saints with his skill and composure.
The Elliott Hawks overcame a third-quarter surge from the Spitfires to emerge 17-point victors in a match that almost flipped on its head. The Hawks appeared in control early, piling on eight goals to take a 28-point buffer into halftime.
But the Spitfires came out firing in the third, booting four goals to one and narrowing the margin to just 10 points. What followed was a high-scoring final quarter, with both teams trading blows. The Spitfires added two more majors, but Elliott answered with three of their own to keep the challengers at bay.
Leroy Jones led from the front for the Hawks, with strong support from Anthony Nish and Damon Anderson. Lane Jackson and Landan Edwards were also pivotal, each contributing three goals. For the Spitfires, Thomas Smith starred with four goals, while Kane Sevallos-Seden and Anthony Lake were standouts in a brave performance.
In the match of the round, the Eagles and Ali Curung played out a one-point thriller that kept fans on the edge of their seats. The see-sawing contest saw the Kangaroos edge ahead by two points at quarter-time, before the Eagles responded to take a four-point lead at the half.
Ali Curung seized momentum in the third quarter, kicking clear to lead by 10 points heading into the final term. But wayward kicking cost them dearly in the end. Despite adding a goal in the last, the Eagles surged home with three majors to snatch a memorable one-point victory.
Joshua Dixon was a driving force in the Eagles’ comeback, alongside Damien Campbell and Lucas Grant, but it was Jerome Haines who did the most damage on the scoreboard with four goals. For Ali Curung, Daylon Bloomfield delivered a standout performance, while Nicky Poulson’s three goals nearly proved enough in a game that could have gone either way.