SATURDAY’S first week of Western Border football saw some close contests in the senior games, with the largest margin for the round 20 points.
And this was no exception when the Demons travelled to McLaughlin Park to take on the Saints in a nail-biting clash.
Millicent 14.9 (93) d South Gambier 13.8 (86)
MILLICENT held off a determined South Gambier outfit to claim a seven-point victory in round one of Western Border football on Saturday.
It was a tough contest at McLaughlin Park, with many pundits considering the Demons to be understaffed this season.
But that theory was dispelled as South kicked out to a three-point advantage at the first break.
With three extra shots at goals, the Demons were dominating the forward play, pushing the ball up to the leading Brayden Kain.
The Saints turned their fortunes around in the second term, much due to the hard work around the ground from the likes of Tom Hutchesson, who not only created the play, but finished off in front of goals as well.
With the big hands of Matt Duldig up forward, there was plenty of opportunity to put the game away, but the Demons manned up against the star former SANFL player and held on, heading to the long break trailing by just five points.
Millicent stepped up the pressure in the third term, stretching the margin to 12 points, but was unable to shake the determined Demons.
The final term saw an epic arm wrestle, with both sides pushing forward.
Steve Duldig was working hard down back for the Saints, providing some resistance to the relentless Demons’ attack.
South found plenty of run through Brad Bryant and Taylor Saffin, but Hutchesson led the charge and continued to push hard.
In the end the half-time margin was enough to protect the lead and get the Saints across the line, with a couple of late goals to Dylan Bromley sealing the deal.
Up forward Kain topped the goal-kicking list with five majors in a losing side.
The Saints were well serviced by Matt Duldig and Hutchesson with three each.
Hutchesson was voted best for Millicent after his work around the ground and in front of the big sticks, while for the Demons Saffin was given the nod.
Saints coach Clint Gallio said he was pleased with the result after a hard day of football.
“I didn’t really know what to expect from South,” he said.
“It’s hard being the first game of the season.
“All the talk of them losing players and not gaining anyone can be worrying.
“A young side can always come out firing and that’s what they did.
“To our credit – and to South’s credit – we both just battled and fought it out.
“It was hot and sticky, a lot of blokes were down cramping and it was a really tight tussle.
“In the end in the last quarter we probably got on top in the mid field just with our will and determination.”
While Matt Duldig was an obvious focus up forward, he attracted plenty of attention from the South defenders, which made life tough to gain clean possession, but Gallio said with the added depth in the mid-field, it opened up the opportunity for Hutchesson to add to the scoring ability of the Saints.
“Matt will work into it as the season goes on,” he said.
“I think he had a fairly tough day and attracted a bit of attention from a couple of defenders, but he kicked three and will get better and better.
“Tom Hutchesson was best on ground by a mile I thought.
“With his electric pace and awareness around the contest, he just breaks through the line.
“He was resting up forward and hopefully he can do that a lot more with the mid field depth we have.”
That extra depth came through the likes of Hamish Gordon, with Reece Duncan and Joe Walker all providing the chance for a break.
Once in the forward line Hutchesson did anything but rest, proving a real headache for the Demons’ defensive line.
“He is just a really hard match-up whether he is isolated up forward or running through the mid field,” Gallio said.
“It is hard for a defender to match up on someone like Tom who has pace and can jump.
“It makes the defenders nervous I think.
“If he can kick two or three a game it will be handy.”
Gallio said the key to the game was simply “getting back to basics”, which proved enough in the end to claim the points.
The final result simply added to the interest in the Western Border league this season, with the closeness of all three games setting the scene for an exciting season ahead.
