EAST Gambier was able to fight off the young Demons in a tough contest at McDonald Park in Round 15 of Western Border football on Saturday.
The Bulldogs were biting in the opening term – booting 3.3 – while holding South Gambier scoreless.
East co-coach Matt Scanlon made his presence felt up forward, both kicking truly and setting up scoring options.
The Bulldogs’ mid fielders ran hard, while “wingers” Jack Dawe, Jake McKeon and Reece Lilliecrapp came into the contest in the opening term.
East was able to achieve its first aim of the match – a solid start – and as a result came into the second term with confidence.
However, it was not long before the Demons bounced back.
South was accurate in front of goal and piled on an impressive 6.2 in the second term to outscore its opponent in what was an action-packed quarter.
The Demons were led by Brad Bryant, who won the contested ball through the middle of the ground.
South’s young guns at half forward also caused headaches for East.
However, despite being somewhat rattled by the dominance of the Demons in the second term, East was able to compose and kick four goals to hold onto a nine-point lead at the long break.
The Bulldogs’ co-coach Matt Willson addressed the need for improvement at half time.
“South played really well in the second quarter,” he said.
“Their pressure was really good, they were able to get back into the game.
“With a young side like that, once they get a bit of a run on, they play some really exciting footy.
“So full credit to them, they played really well in that second term.”
Showing they are ready to play finals football, East stood up in the third quarter and kicked away.
Willson said his team started to get their hands on the ball around the stoppages, which was the difference.
“They were beating us in contested footy in the second quarter, so we knew we needed to step up there,” he said.
“Tommy Williams, Tully Balshaw and Jesse Fry were all really good in that area and I think that is what kick-started us.”
The Bulldogs held a healthy 30-point lead coming into the final break and were confident in getting the job done.
However, Willson said as a side you can never be too complacent, knowing they needed to maintain the pace in order to get over the line.
“Any side can play a good quarter of football and run away with the game,” he said.
“So we knew we had to keep going with it and to the boys’ credit, we did.
“We put our foot on the throttle a bit and continued in that last quarter.”
East piled on five goals to South’s two and looked confident all over the ground to eventually take a 48-point victory.
Willson said he was impressed by the efforts of Mark Kieselbach who claimed best on ground honours.
“Kieselbach was outstanding, he is a super consistent player,” he said.
“We know what we are going to get from him every week and I thought he was good.”
Others to do well for the Bulldogs were Dawe, Fraser Scanlon, Matt McCallum, Matt Scanlon and Blashaw.
Meanwhile, South’s standout was once again Bryant, with Ty Opie, Taylor Saffin, Nick Jenkin, Jake Schleter and Tom Vassallo also making their mark.
With finals just one round away, Willson said East would put its best side on the park in the final minor round game against West.
“We know we have that first week off, so there will be no resting players,” he said.
“It is all about trying to continue to come together and gel to play our best football coming into finals.
“West will come out as South did, with a lot of confidence.
“They have been playing some good football and managed to get close to Casterton on the weekend.
“So we are looking for a ripper contest and will hopefully come away with the win.”
