Ewing’s lucky 13 propels Blues to monster opening win

Tongala skipped away to a 63-point advantage on the back of an eight-goal second quarter, and didn’t slow from there.

The Blues added another 16 goals in a blistering second half, while the Eagles could only muster four for the match, three coming through recruit James Harney.

Ewing wasn’t alone on the goal-sheet however, with fellow NT star Cam Ilett adding four of his own.

Injuries on the eve of the season saw Dom Watt make a triumphant return to the senior side, booting three goals amid the goal-scoring onslaught.

Alex Williams (2) and Sam Cipriani (2) were the other multiple goal-kickers for the Blues, while Jesse Garner was the only player besides Harney to hit the scoreboard for the Eagles.

Blues coach Jordan Souter credited Ewing for a dominant showing but also flagged his clubs “team-oriented” ball movement and the performances of his returned senior personnel for the win.

“We moved the ball the way we wanted and stuck to team-oriented footy; we didn’t get selfish with it,” Souter said. “That’s what we spoke about before the game.

“We say it a lot, but it was a good team effort.

“We did have a few injuries during the week so we brought up a few blokes who had really good pre-seasons that haven’t really had their chance to play senior footy in the last couple of years.

“Dom Watt, Bailey Cox, Bryce Denham and Malcolm Hedges all came up and they played really good games.”

The usual suspects fired for the rampant Blues, with O’Dwyer Medallist Coby McCarthy and Blues best-and-fairest Nic Jamieson named in the best players.

Club recruits McLean and Nyhuis hit the ground running in their first hit-outs in the Tongala jumper, with McLean hitting the scoreboard in his first outing in Blue after crossing from Shepparton United.

“The two recruits we’ve got are top-class,” Souter said.

“Brock had a lot of the footy and used it well. Ryan’s a bit of a general across that half-back line, and we were able to throw him into the midfield.”

For the Eagles, Bailey Boyack stood tall in defeat alongside fellow recruits Joseph and James Harney.

Mitch Loury, Phil Hubbard, and Bradley Anderson were also named in the best for United.

The round one clash between the minor premier and last year’s bottom-placed Murray league side made for an early-season mismatch, but Souter credited the tenacity and direction of Farran Priest’s young Eagles outfit.

“We didn’t know what to expect from United,” Souter said.

“We had a fairly good side in, and I do give United credit for how they stuck it out all game.

“They have a good young side, and you can see if that crew stays together over the next few years, they’ll be going places.

“You can see that Farran’s doing a good job with the side and the club culture — there’s a heap of positives to come out of United.”

Tongala will be without its talented NT quartet of Ilett, Ewing, Nyhuis and ruck Jack Monigatti in the coming weeks with work commitments, but Souter says it will open the door for more senior opportunity.

“A few of the Darwin boys will be out for a while now,” Souter said.

“Darren and Jack (Monigatti) have jobs, so they can only play certain weeks.

“Cam and Ryan will hopefully be back in round four just to freshen them up after their big (NTFL) season.

“We’re going to be looking around for a few players, but the best thing is that we can give opportunities to more players and hopefully they can take it.”

Tongala will travel to Barooga to face the Hawks in round two, a side coming off an opening 104-point defeat to Deniliquin.

United will host its first game in round two at Echuca South Recreation Reserve, but will face a fast-starting Rams outfit in what will be another tough test early in the season.