WEST Gambier proved it still had plenty of fight on Saturday, as it hosted Casterton Sandford in what was the closest match for Round 15 of Western Border football.
With a final margin of 13 points, the Roos remained competitive for the full four quarters, despite finding themselves down at every break.
The opening term was a display of accuracy from both sides – with the only major scores recorded – and it was West that came out firing to score two within the first nine minutes, with Tom Zeitz and Todd Lewis putting them through for the red and blue.
However, the Cats soon responded with a major to playing coach Hamish Jarrad just before the 10-minute mark, which began a chain of goals for his team, as Trent Nebitt, Matthew Killey and Michael Cummings all converted.
With a three-goal lead at quarter time, the Cats remained under heavy pressure from the Roos and, with five minor scores and only two majors in the second term, the visitors were unable to shake off their hosts before the long break.
A low scoring third quarter saw West’s Lachlan Jones bag the first major for the term in the 12th minute, which was followed by minor scores to team-mate Jett Attard and coach Steven Wenman.
The Cats found their first goal for the second half at the 20-minute mark of the third, while the Roos’ Reid Kuller concluded the scoring for the term with a minor.
This saw the win remain well within West’s reach, with just 15 points the difference, but the Cats were able to hold this margin to the final siren.
Beginning the quarter with a point to Josh Stephenson, the Cats soon had a major score on the board as Tom McArlein put one through.
This was quickly followed by Nesbitt’s second major for the day, which saw the Cats hold a 19-point lead.
But the Roos were determined to deny the Cats the points, with Sam Zeitz kicking two majors within minutes of each other, to finish with three for the day and the best-on-ground honours for West.
He was joined by Jones, Attard and Joe Ferguson-Lane, who each proved their value to the side with their solid efforts around the ground.
Lewis Lean also played a good game and was a constant presence for West, while Aden Pfitzner had his moments in the spotlight.
However, despite these impressive efforts, West was unable to turn the game around and claim consecutive wins.
For the Cats, Ayton was named best, with his efforts on the wing setting up a number of opportunities at goal, along with two majors of his own.
Daniel Wombwell provided a vital link to the forward line and also played his part in creating chances for the Cats, while Justin Carlin and Josh Stephenson were reliable in a contest.
Young talents Ben Guthrie and Tynan Shannon rounded out the Cats’ best and their positions were well-earned, as the two both played solid games, with the latter contributing a major.
The Cats’ coach Hamish Jarrad said the closeness of the competition was expected, but he was happy to claim the points in the end.
“We knew it would be hard work,” he said.
“When we played over there last time their pressure was really good.
“It was good to get the points and that was what we came there to do, but there are a lot of areas to work on that’s for sure.”
Jarrad said the two main issues his team will address following Saturday’s game are areas that have been the Cats’ key strengths in previous rounds.
“Our contested footy – I thought they beat us in that area Saturday – and our tackle pressure,” he said.
“They are probably two things that bring our game around and I thought West was probably better in those areas than us.”
In terms of performances on the day, Jarrad said there was only a couple of obvious contributors, while the overall presentation of the group was not its best.
“There were probably no real stand-outs,” he said.
“I thought Dylan Ayton worked really hard on his wing and Daniel Wombwell across half back’s effort and endeavour was there all day.
“Outside of those two I thought it was an average effort across the board.”
Looking forward to this week and on to finals, Jarrad said the Cats will draw their attention to making sure they play to their strengths.
“We will just focus as a group on getting back to playing the footy our way,” he said.
“We pride ourselves on getting the game played on our terms and it was probably played on West Gambier’s terms for a lot of Saturday.
“That will be a pretty big focus for us this week.”
With the Cats’ proving their dominance at Island Park in the previous two rounds, Jarrad was asked if the change of scenery had any effect on his side’s performance against the Roos.
“This group traditionally struggle to come here and play for some reason, I don’t know why,” he said.
“I can’t say it didn’t (have an effect), because obviously it did.
“But personally I think it was down to the mindset of our group, it wasn’t quite where it needed to be.
“We speak about it as a group – if our mindset is not in the right area, it doesn’t matter where we play, we’ll play ordinary football.”
Jarrad was impressed by the Roos’ performance and said their pressure was some of the best his side has faced in recent rounds.
“Credit to West Gambier, I thought they were really good,” he said.
“I thought their pressure, intent and endeavour was probably the best we’ve come up against in a few weeks.
“I was really impressed by them and credit to those boys, they’ve had a tough year, but they are fighting it out to the death, which is really good.”
With the tight contest between the Cats and the Roos, Jarrad said it did not hurt his team to have a close match in the lead-up to finals in a couple of weeks.
“We are a blue collar footy side, so to be able to grind out a win and not play our best footy, that’s something in the past this club hasn’t been able to do,” he said.
With the Cats safe in third place on the ladder, the side will now focus on ensuring they are in peak form for finals football.
