Hampden league defeated by Ballarat in under 23 interleague clash

In dewy conditions at Mars Stadium, the Bottle Greens couldn't contain a sharp Ballarat side, who put scoreboard pressure on in the 13.13 (91) to 11.9 (75) win.

A red-hot contest in the opening 10 minutes saw neither side register a major score, before the Bottle Greens opened up a handy first quarter lead of 11 with goals through four individual scorers.

"Pressure was outstanding right from the start, led by (captain) Paddy O'Sullivan," Brown told The Standard. "Second quarter we just lost control of the stoppages, just lost our shape, a bit of contest method."

Brown praised Ballarat - coached by Carlton legend Anthony Koutoufides - for their clean skills and running game.

"They were able to get it out into the open field, it was pretty challenging and we probably left our defenders out to dry a little bit," the three-time AFL premiership player said. "And they kicked really straight which put scoreboard pressure on us."

Brown credited his side for their fight late in the game, which saw the Bottle Greens get within 10 points in the fourth quarter.

"Our endeavour in the second half was very good, we changed some things around, tried to get some flow into the game," he said. "We got back control of the stoppages but probably the one thing that stood out for whatever reason - I know these boys, there is a lot of skill in this team - but we made errors."

Koroit's Mac Petersen was best on ground for the Hampden league, awarded the Richard Nixon medal for his efforts.

The premiership Saint was instrumental playing across the half-back, while several others had their moments.

Camperdown's Hamish Sinnott had impact and was used in a different role late, with Brown admitting the change didn't pay off. North Warrnambool Eagle Jett Bermingham worked hard to win the centre clearances and hit the scoreboard twice, his poise with ball in hand evident.

Hamilton's Hamish Cook (two goals) and Jackson Grundy (one) were active in the Bottle Greens' forward line, Ryley Hutchins (two) capitalised on the ground, while Koroit's Tom Baulch impressed early, helping Petersen throughout defence to set up counter attacks.

Ballarat got on top of the battle in the second quarter, kicking five goals to one to take a 15-point lead into the second half, with Kyle Borg's explosiveness around goal a highlight for the home side.

Sebastopol's Riley O'Keefe was named best on ground for the winners.

AFL clubs had been notified mid-week about the clash, with many sending scouts to Mars Stadium, with some players already on their radars.

Koutoufides said it was a chance for players to show AFL recruiters what they were capable off.

"I don't see why there's any reason why a handful of these players can't play AFL footy," he said. "If they are good players now, they become even better if you bring them into an AFL system and if I was a recruiter, I think there's a handful of players that could really play AFL."

Meanwhile, Warrnambool export Angus Bade, who lined up for Ballarat, came off in the second quarter with a suspected PCL injury.

Final score: Ballarat 3.0, 8.3, 10.7, 13.13 (91) def Hampden 4.5, 5.6, 8.7, 11.9 (75)

Best: Mac Petersen, Jackson Grundy, Toby Jennings, Paddy O'Sullivan, Hamish Sinnott, Jett Hopper.

Goal kickers: Ryley Hutchins 2, Jett Bermingham 2, Hamish Cook 2, Jackson Grundy, Jett Hopper, Mitch Bidmade, Harry Ryan, Toby Jennings.

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