CASTERTON Sandford has staked a claim on its finals hopes with a 36-point victory over Millicent at McLaughlin Park on Saturday.
The Cats faced plenty of opposition on the day on and off the field, with the Saints officially opening their new clubrooms, with all the fanfare associated.
However, the visitors paid little notice to those proceedings, as they set about dismantling the Saints game from the first bounce.
In a see-sawing contest, a five-goal first term made the difference in the end, with the visitors off to a lightning start to set up the win.
With a top-four position on the line, the Cats were the aggressors from the outset, despite missing the services of star utility Josh Stephenson.
From the first bounce they attacked, with a goal to Ricky Killey coming within the first seconds of the game from a centre clearance, to give Millicent notice they had come to play.
The Saints responded, but stifling defence from the Cats saw the ball returned, with Matt Killey in on the act for another major and suddenly the Saints were vulnerable on their home deck.
The running play that has been a feature of the Cats games in recent rounds came to the fore in the windy conditions, with the Saints having few answers in the opening term.
While Millicent had plenty of play in their forward zone, the tough defence of Ben Guthrie and Daniel Wombwell was up to the task, pushing the ball back out to the likes of Dylan Ayton, coach Hamish Jarrad and Michael Cummings.
When Trent Nesbitt added another major, there was cause to worry in the Millicent camp.
In typical style, the Cats shared the goals around, with Tynan Shannon and Dylan Ryan also bagging first-quarter majors.
By the first siren the home side was left wondering what had happened, with the visitors out to a 31-point lead.
Nine shots on goal to three did the damage, with the Cats defence stifling any forward thrusts before they reached the danger zone.
But the Saints turned their fortunes around somewhat in the second, with what was close to a five-to-six goal breeze working in their favour.
The home side began to find the big sticks, with a couple of early goals setting up the attack.
But the Cats kept the contested possessions tight, not allowing the ball to spill out of stoppages for the Saints to kick long.
At the end of the term the Saints had managed four scoring shots, which yielded just the two majors, while holding the Cats to three shots on goal.
While the Saints had closed the margin, the long break still saw a 25-point deficit to overcome.
Unfortunately the third term was a scoreless effort for the home side, with the visitors adding a further two majors and two minors to remain clear leaders.
In the final term the Saints again used the wind to their advantage, making some inroads into the lead, but the Cats played a disciplined brand of football, chipping the ball around and keeping possession whenever possible.
In the end it proved a masterful stroke by Jarrad, with his side holding on for a well-deserved victory.
Ryan, Nesbitt and Matt Killey finished with two goals each in the low-scoring game, while Shannon, Rick Killey and Michael Cummings contributed singles.
For the Saints Dylan Bromley was the only multiple goal kicker, finishing with two, while Mitchell Reilly and Hamish Nitschke contributed singles.
While Jarrad said he was pleased with the efforts of his defensive players overall, it was the mid-field that was a concern, without the services of Stephenson in the side.
However, he said he was pleased with how the remainder of the group stood tall.
“I thought we moved the footy pretty well in patches and ran it really well into the breeze,” he said.
“I thought Todd Clode and Dylan Ryan stood up through the mid-field without having Josh in there – I put the heat on them to step up and fill that void.
“We didn’t really lose a lot without Josh, which was a credit to the boys.
“If you had asked me six weeks ago how our depth was and what players we could cover, I would have been feeling different to what I am now.
“Now I am confident whoever does go out of our side, we can cover them.”
With South Gambier losing to North Gambier, the Cats’ win propelled them into fourth place on the ladder, just a solitary point out of third.
While the result itself was important, for the Cats to win away from the comfort of Island Park was even more so, with the Demons next up at Blue Lake Sports Park, which again could have a bearing on a top-four position.
“We had a major focus on winning away from home, which was something we hadn’t done this year,” Jarrad said.
“There had also been a big gap between the footy we were playing at home and away.
“We spoke about if we want to make finals and have an impact we need to start to win away from home.
“I think coming up against South at South this week, it was important we did that.”
