Thomason dominates in Mountain Men mauling

AN 11-goal haul from key forward Cooper Thomason has helped Bright to a huge 163-point win against Benalla All Blacks at Pioneer Park last Saturday. Thomason, who has suddenly reached the half-century with 52 season goals and counting, was one of nine individual goalkickers for the Mountain Men on their way to a 27.17 (179) to 2.4 (16) victory. The win gives them a meaningful percentage boost to stay ahead on top of the Ovens and King Football Netball League ladder after nine rounds. It was one-way traffic from the opening bounce as Bright dominated territory and possession in every quarter, and ran out the game well with contributors across all three zones. Cy Banks slotted a season’s best five goals, while Tom Gray (three), Chad Martin (two) and Luke Quirk (two) joined the party. Thomason, Banks and swingman Patrick Bren were considered Bright’s best three, but the list of good players was a long one in such a big win. Despite Benalla’s recent battles since their senior premiership in 2022, senior coach Michael Quirk was complimentary of both sides who took to the field. “Obviously the All Blacks are struggling for numbers at the moment but to their credit, they fought the game out until the end,” Quirk said. “Their midfield were very competitive for the majority of the match, but slowly we started to get on top in that area in the second half. “We had plenty of forward entries which was great, but we still need to keep working on our delivery into that area.” Bright, who have seven wins and one loss after eight games, face one of the longest road trips in country footy and a resurgent Bonnie Doon outfit, who in their last two outings have defeated King Valley and reigning premiers Greta. Quirk knows that his team need to be up for the fight if they want to come away with four premiership points. “We now turn our attention to the trip to Bonnie Doon and their form appears very good at the moment,” Quirk added. “They’ll be keen to turn the tables on us as we got the win against them at Bright and we will prepare the best we can for a tough encounter on their home ground.” Bright’s A grade netballers have continued their winning ways at home, once again showing their ability to attack with confidence and post big scores on their way to a comprehensive 73-37 triumph. The league’s leading goal scorer Emily Nightingale netted another 44 goals at an impressive 85 per cent to extend her lead in the overall standings, while emerging shooter Hannah Witts added a confidence-boosting 27 goals. Bright’s sixth win of the season sees them advance to fourth on the ladder, only two points from first and they are sitting equal with this week’s opponent Bonnie Doon (third), in what promises to be an exciting finals preview. At home, Bonnie Doon will be hoping to reverse the result of the Round 5 thriller between these two sides, which Bright won by only one goal. The winner of this game could well be sitting pretty on top of the ladder by the end of 60 minutes of exhilarating netball.

Thomason dominates in Mountain Men mauling

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