A superb second half, and a five-goal haul to forward Derek Murray saw The Rock-Yerong Creek exact some revenge on Barellan in their opening round encounter at Victoria Park on Saturday.
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It was a result that simultaneously warned of TRYC’s potential and reminded Barellan that there’ll be no free ride up the ladder this season.
Led by high-profile signing Sean Ellis, the Two Blues showed their intent early, and had the upper hand, by a goal, at quarter time.
The Magpies swung momentum with a six-goal second quarter to lead by 18 points at half-time, but there were still more than a few nerves for the Pies.
However, Barellan couldn't stay in the contest after the main break. TRYC kicked nine goals to three in the second half as they ran away to a comfortable victory, 17.10 (112) to 8.6 (54).
“Early on the pushed us – they’ll definitely be better than last year,” TRYC coach Tom Yates said.
“We had a good third quarter. Probably our run and spread opened it up a bit and we started to get on top in the midfield and got going from there. We played well.
“But it was a slow first couple of quarters, and our skills were down a bit I thought.”
It was sweet payback for the Pies who went down last time the teams met, in a huge upset in round 17 last year at Barellan. And it was the last quarter that really hammered the message home, as the Pies finished off with 5.5 to Barellan’s solitary point.
As well as Derek Murray’s handful of goals, recruit Sam Lucas kicked three. Fellow new faces Jim Carroll, Heath Russell and Fraser Yates also got on the board while the returned Harri White kicked two.
Yates said it was a good team performance but noted the efforts of Matt Murray, Lachy Myers and Justin Driscoll, as well as Jordy Kemp and Fraser Yates.
“A couple of our smaller players, they were good with their pressure. They both kicked a goal each too, but their speed and pressure was good,” Yates said.
However, there was a downside for TRYC with Jacob Adams-Wright reported in a sometimes-spiteful first quarter ,for carelessly or intentionally striking Jack Hillman.
For Barellan, Ellis was the standout, while Hillman and Matt Irvin also played well. Matt Wells was their leading scorer with three goals.
