Bairnsdale moved into the top five of the Gippsland League fourths competition with an extraordinary effort over Drouin at Bairnsdale City Oval last Saturday.
The Redlegs’ youngsters restricted the winless Hawks to just a single first-quarter behind, which was incidentally the match’s opening score, as they rammed home 32 unanswered goals to win by a remarkable 224 points.
Good players were, as expected, easy to find for the home side, but the standouts were Hudson Froud, Luca Desio, Tayte Gibbs, Harper Clack, Max Gudgin and Oakley Hughes.
Goal kickers were plentiful, led by Tayte Gibbs, Bailey Lieuwen and Harper Clack, who all kicked four, while Xavier Parker and Flynn Ashwood chipped in with three each.
Bairnsdale moved up to fourth after the percentage-boosting win.
Despite some less-than-ideal conversion in front of goal, Bairnsdale ran out emphatic 52-point winners in the thirds over a winless Drouin.
Courtesy of the victory, Bairnsdale jumped a spot on the ladder and now sits in third place.
The final score flattered the visitors, with Bairnsdale winning 11.17 to 5.1, with the Hawks’ accuracy certainly a point of jealousy for the Redlegs.
Kane Callaway kicked six of the home side’s majors and was joined in the best by Banjo Nugent-Brown, Xavier Morrison, the pacey Bill Prior, Ned Stansfield and Blake Thomson.
Winning momentum for Bairnsdale was halted in the reserves, with Drouin running out 20-point victors.
Both sides went into the clash with a solitary win for the season and were keen for victory.
The Hawks held a three-point advantage at the final change after being held scoreless by the Redlegs in a torrid third term.
But with the game on the line, it was Drouin who kicked four unanswered goals to seize both the moment and the match.
Mitchell Neal, Bryan Froud, Hywel Nicholls, Riley Taylor, Jason Waddell and Andrew Pritchett impressed for Bairnsdale over four quarters.
The Redlegs will hit the road this week, heading down the highway to do battle with the Moe Lions.
