Barton bags six goals for Marlins in crushing AFL win over The Entrance Bateau Bay Blues

INSPIRATIONAL Nelson Bay AFL leaders Billy Barton and Louis Dews continue to make an impact in the 2026 Hunter Central Coast Black Diamond Senior Men’s Cup series.

The legendary co-captains produced stand-out performances for the in-form Marlins in a resounding 131-44 victory over The Entrance Bateau Bay Blues last weekend at Dick Burwell Oval.

In a masterclass display, super boot Barton kicked six of the Marlins’ 19 goals and proved a handful for the Blues defence in the forward line with his sound positional play and scoring prowess.

The experienced Dews capped a strong game with two goals and helped marshall his Nelson Bay team mates to a seventh victory in 11 matches this season.

Other players to shine for the fourth-ranked Marlins were halfback Harrison Lack, Zane Grant, Jayden Baldwin-Rymer and forwards Sam Carruthers, Adam Grant and Mitchell Hall.

Carruthers (4 goals) and Hall (3) supported the prolific-scoring Barton with accurate kicking as the Marlins powered to victory with five goals in the final quarter.

Nelson Bay dominated the opening stanza, booting four goals and six behinds to establish a 30-7 lead at the end of the first break before posting another four majors for a 60-26 advantage at the half time interval.

The Marlins piled on the pressure in the third term, kicking six goals to take an unassailable 99-33 lead.

Nelson Bay will test their premiership credentials this Saturday when they travel to Hylton Moore Oval for a classic showdown with third-ranked Terrigal Avoca Panthers at 2pm.

The Marlins’ Senior Women’s Cup team returned to the winners list with a 50-24 victory over The Entrance Bateau Bay Blues at Dick Burwell Oval.

Isabella Hol, Jazlyn Stevens, Cameron Moncrieff, Olivia Feldman, Milla Gainsford and Ella Burggraaff turned in strong games for the Marlins who led 20-2, 27-10 and 42-17 at the end of each break before storming to their fourth win of the season.

By Chris KARAS