A nine-goal second quarter and another big effort from forward James Lawton (seven goals) saw Marrar see off a courageous Barellan on Saturday.
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The 19.13 (127) to 9.6 (60) win didn't quite tell the tale of the game, with Marrar coach Shane Lenon full of praise for their opponents.
The Bombers had to come back from a quarter-time deficit at Barellan Sportsground as the home side - boosted by the guest appearance of Yarrawonga big man Brandon Symes - made a flying start.
They had six scoring shots to three in the first quarter to hold an eight-point lead at the first break.
But that sparked Marrar into action and the competition frontrunners clicked into gear in a high-scoring second term.
With Zach Walgers through the middle and Jack Reynolds down back getting them going, Lawton came right into the game in the second quarter.
Still, the Two Blues had added another three goals themselves and were only 32 points down at half-time.
After a fairly even third quarter, Marrar stretched their advantage to just over six goals at the last change before finishing the game off strongly with five goals in the final term
"Barellan played a pretty good style of footy. I was impressed by them," Lenon said.
"This is the fifth year I've been at Marrar and that's clearly the best style of footy and the best they've played since we've been playing them in the last five years. They moved the ball pretty well.
"I know we ended up winning by 11 goals but it was a pretty hard-fought win."
On top in the middle, where Jed Jenkins also had a fine game (coming into the role with Chris O'Donnell unavailable), Marrar got their running game going and soon had the scoreboard ticking over.
Their leaders all stood up including captain Jackson Moye and big man Nick Molkentin along with Reynolds and Walgers, and the Bombers didn't fall into the trap of taking their foot off.
"We're confident in our ability to run games out because of the work we do on the track and the fitness we feel we've got," Lenon said.
Molkentin manned up on Symes, who started the game at centre-half-forward for Barellan and swapped into the ruck, and both had strong games for their respective teams.
Ellis, who finished with four of their nine goals, and Josh Brittliff in the middle also played well.
Barellan are seventh on the ladder, two wins behind CSU and the Northern Jets.
The Bombers turn for home on top of the ladder, after just one loss in their first seven games, pleasing the coach.
"The fun's about to begin. Every game from here, we're a step closer to the finals," Lenon said.
"Seven-and-one, you'd take that if it was offered at the start of the year but we'll keep working hard. There's a long way to go."
Lenon himself wound back the clock playing his first competitive game in five years. At 51 years of age, and with the club down on numbers for the day, he came off the bench in reserve grade and kicked two goals in about a quarter-and-a-half of footy.
Full-time:
Marrar 1.2, 10.6, 14.9, 19.13 (127)
Barellan 2.4, 5.4, 8.5, 9.6 (60)
Goals: (Marrar) James Lawton 7, Dayne Hancock 3, Zacharie Walgers 2, Rhys Mooney 2, Jack Reynolds 1, Nicholas Molkentin 1,Sam Emery 1, Jackson Moye 1, Jed Jenkins 1; (Barellan) Sean Ellis 4, Jack Hillman 2, Alex Lawder 1, Matthew Wells 1, Brandon Symes 1
Best: (Marrar) James Lawton, Jed Jenkins, Jackson Moye, Jack Reynolds, Nicholas Molkentin, Zacharie Walgers; (Barellan) Michael Lovett, Brandon Symes, Ben Cleaver, Sam Foley, Josh Brittliff, Sean Ellis.
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