AFTER a tough week on the road last week for Bright’s premier football and netball teams, both sides were able to bounce back with wins at home last Saturday. The Mountain Men, who were hoping to get back on the winner’s list after their season’s first loss, came out with a point to prove against early improvers North Wangaratta to record a twelve-goal victory at Pioneer Park - 19.7 (121) to 7.7 (49). Bright were strong in the contest from the first minute and managed to open up a three-goal lead at the first break, then went one better with a six-goal to one second quarter to effectively end any chance of a Hawks victory away from home, with a 46-point half-time advantage. North Wangaratta showed plenty of fight to even the score in the third quarter, but Bright’s run and carry was evident to game’s end to extend the final beyond 10 goals. Spearhead Cooper Thomason (seven goals), Cy Banks (three), Wayland Wales (three) and Riley Bacon (two) were the Mountain Men’s multiple goal kickers. Senior coach Michael Quirk was happy with his side’s response to a rare loss. “After our first loss last week, we made a point of getting back to basics and being more proactive in running through the lines to put the North Wang backline under pressure,” Quirk said. Speaking on his side’s next challenge against Moyhu, who had their three-figure win against Benalla All Blacks last weekend, Quirk was cautious of the Hoppers can produce on their home turf. “It will be another tough match this week heading to Moyhu and we won’t be taking them lightly on their home ground,” Quirk added. “We will continue to work hard at training to improve in all areas of our game. “It’s only early in the season and there’s still plenty of room for improvement.” Bright’s A grade netball squad had a similarly convincing 62-21 win against North Wangaratta. After conceding 69 goals in their most recent match, Bright’s defence, led by Amber Quirk and Molly Whitty, was as strong as ever and conceded no more than seven goals in a single quarter. In a positive sign at the other end of the court, Bright scored 22 goals in the last term to remind rival teams of their scoring prowess that could cause opposition coaches some headaches in the coming weeks, led by Emily Nightingale (41 goals) and Hannah Witts (14). Bright who currently occupy sixth position on the OKFNL ladder after seven rounds, will face seventh-placed Moyhu in what should be a fascinating encounter between two teams that will be expecting to feature in finals netball, yet there may only be room for one. Senior football kicks off at 2pm, while A grade netball starts at 2.30pm.
