THE Busselton Magpies held off an almighty scare from the Carey Park Panthers on Saturday night to claim a thrilling five-point victory at Sir Stewart Bovell Park.
A blazing third quarter put the Magpies in the driver’s seat to claim the points over a spirited but depleted Carey Park outfit.
Busselton booted five goals to Carey Park’s two in the third term, dominating general play through a disciplined backline that capitalised on the absence of Carey Park’s star full forward Matt Martin.
The Magpies began with their own interesting forward set-up as perennial midfielder Dan McGinlay lined up in the forward 50m arch.
But both forward structures struggled against their opposition backlines in the first term without a single goal being kicked by either side.
Despite Busselton seemingly having the upper hand with Chris Kane performing well early, both sides went into the first change having scored just one point.
But Busselton began quickly in the second quarter with a fast goal to Steve Cameron.
Teammate Sam Shepherd soon followed as the Magpies took a two-goal lead.
However despite missing Martin, Carey Park’s Michael McMillan stood up to claim two goals in the quarter and keep his side within six points at half time.
Unfortunately for the Panthers it was a new-look Magpies that took to the field in the third quarter.
Daniel McGinlay was finding more of the football as Luke Hutchins kicked the first goal of the quarter to kick-start the Magpies blitz.
Efforts from Carey Park’s Brayden Mann and Graham Jetta fell short in the second term as Jordan Eastwell, Brent Hall and Brent Snook also bagged majors for the Magpies.
The game appeared out of hand but Clint Garlett managed to kick truly for Carey Park after the three-quarter time siren to keep his side within striking distance.
The fourth quarter saw Carey Park ignite with a short time left on the clock.
Ruckman Loki Lawrence’s return to action was a welcome sight for the Panthers’ faithful while Brandon Jetta also helped the side to four unanswered goals.
Garlett bagged the first of the quarter for Carey Park while Liam Stewart followed with two consecutive goals.
Aaron Hill kicked another late to put the visiting side within five points but the final siren sounded before they could take the lead.
Busselton now sits a game clear on the league ladder after surprising losses to Eaton and Donnybrook, while Carey Park sits in third.
Next week the Magpies will travel to Eaton for a top-of-the-table clash while Carey Park will host Collie.
