Mag-nificent Pies thrash Nathalia

The Magpies were simply magnificent, holding an under-strength Nathalia scoreless over three quarters of football.

Moama allowed just two Nathalia goals all day — both coming in the second quarter —with the Pies keeping their opponents off the scoreboard in the first, third and fourth terms.

Up the other end Stuart Taylor was practically unstoppable, booting 10 goals for the Pies, while Matthew Costello, Nicholas Pavlou, Joshua Pell and Paul van der Sluys each kicked two.

Mapgies coach Sam Sheldon said he was happy with his side’s performance in round two.

“We just wanted to get off to a good start,” Sheldon said. “They had a fair crack early, they dropped a fair few numbers behind the ball so that made it difficult to hit targets inside 50.

“I don’t think there was any score for the first 10 minutes of the game, but it broke open as the day went on.

“The boys got on top and played our way which was pleasing — none of the boys played selfish footy, we just kept playing our way which was good.

“Our effort for the whole game was pretty good and was there for the whole four quarters, which was pleasing.”

The Magpies are sitting on top of the ladder two weeks into the new season and boast an eye-boggling percentage of 946.15 per cent.

Sheldon said it was important for the Magpies to start the season off strong.

“It’s always nice to have two big wins,” he said. “They are important at the start of the year because the injuries are going to come at some stage and you’re going to go through the ebbs and flows of the season so at some stage it’s going to get harder.

“It’s good to get those runs on the board early to give yourself a bit of a buffer going into the middle of the year.”

Sheldon and the Magpies aren’t getting ahead of themselves, however, with plenty of tough tests still to come.

“We haven’t played super strong opposition as yet, so the test is yet to come, I think,” he said. “We’ll find out in the next couple of weeks how good we can potentially be.”

The Pies have been almost impregnable in the backline, allowing just 26 points so far this season and boasting five shut-out quarters of football.

Sheldon said some new recruits as well as his side’s defensive mentality had been a big part of their success early on.

“Our back six is rock solid and our midfield have really bought into running both ways, as has our forward line,” he said. “Across the board we are working well together.

“We’ve added Josh Vick from Kyabram, who has been one of the premier full-backs in country footy for the last 10 years, he straightens us up a lot and helps us. Tom Sheldon likewise has been one of the best centre-half-backs going around for a long time.”

Pavlou, Liam Ritchie, Axel Childs, Callum Doyle, Jack Russell and 10-goal star Taylor were among the best for Moama, with Sheldon offering some high praise for his players.

“Axel Childs played his first game for the club yesterday, he really goes a long way to the way we play and the consistency in how we play for four quarters,” Sheldon said. “He brings that pressure for four quarters which all the young boys really buy into and love.

“Stuart’s 10 goals were pretty impressive, he is a ripping fella. He leads straight and he’s a good target up forward, he just draws the footy.

“The week before he was on the edge of kicking a bag, but it just didn’t fall his way but then this week it all worked out pretty well for him.

“Nick Pavlou played really well too in the midfield, his run was unreal, and he just doesn’t miss with his skills and he was impressive as well.”

Moama will now gear up for a huge Good Friday clash this week against Echuca United, while Nathalia will take on Tongala in round three.

It has been a difficult start to the new season for Nathalia, who have lost a number of players due to retirement and have been without others because of injuries.

The Purples have lost their opening two games of the season, the first time they have lost back-to-back games since 2016, and their quest for a record-extending sixth consecutive flag is off to a rocky start.

Nathalia sits 11th on the early-season ladder and is one of five winless teams in the MFL this season.