THE Sportspower player-of-the-year award kicks off again this week, with the best player from the Western Border football round of matches given the nod each week.
This week’s opening round saw three cracking games of football, with all decided late in the contests.
In the grand final rematch at McDonald Park, North Gambier came out firing and made East Gambier look ordinary.
The reigning premiers were struggling, but turned their fortunes around and staged a classic come-from-behind win, running away with the game in the latter stages of the final term.
Giancarlo Cooper was instrumental in the victory, setting up several opportunities, before banging home four goals in the final term to seal the deal.
Over at Malseed Park it was another tight contest, with West Gambier taking the game up to the more-fancied Casterton Sandford.
The Cats had recruited well over the summer, but that mattered little, as the hosts pushed them to the limit.
However, after leading in the final term, in the end the Roos succumbed to the sustained pressure.
Cats recruit and Casterton boy Callum Currie showed his value, gaining the three votes from The Border Watch football scribe Gorden Milosevic, with Tom Holmes back in form in his return to the Roos this season.
Up at Millicent it was a similar scenario.
South Gambier had few recruits to show in the opening round, while the Saints boasted the likes of former SANFL player Matt Duldig.
Duldig was expected to have a big impact, but the Demons put paid to that, applying plenty of pressure to the gun forward, limiting his influence to just three goals.
That helped keep South in the game, with the final margin of seven points a true reflection on the contest.
On the day it was Tom Hutchesson who stole the show, racking up plenty of possessions through the middle of the ground, while also contributing on the scoreboard with three majors.
However, this week’s honour goes to Cooper, whose work around the ground for the Bulldogs was certainly influential to the final outcome.
In a game that could easily have slipped away from the reigning premiers, his performance in front of goals in the final term swung the momentum to the hosts and provided some real excitement for the punters.
West v Cast/Sand – Gorden Milosevic
3. Callum Currie (Casterton Sandford): A standout game, with two final-term goals to seal the win for the Cats.
2. Tom Holmes (West Gambier): Showed his pace around the ground, finishing the day with two goals under plenty of pressure.
1. Dylan Ayton (Casterton Sandford): A standout in the contested-ball stakes.
Millicent v South – James Murphy
3: Tom Hutchesson (Millicent): Weaved his magic around the ground, along with three goals to help the Saints to a hard-fought victory.
2: Steve Duldig (Millicent): His usual tough game in the backline, repelling many Demon forward forays.
1: Brayden Kain (South Gambier): A strong focus up forward for the Demons, with five goals in a losing side.
East v North – Trevor Jackson
3: Giancarlo Cooper (East Gambier): An inspirational performance for the Bulldogs throughout the game, which helped turn their fortunes around, then sealed the game with four final-quarter goals.
2: John Forster (East Gambier): Played a tough brand of football, intercepting plenty of Tigers’ passes and pushing back towards the danger zone.
1: Fraser Marshall (North Gambier): A solid all-round effort from one of North’s regular top performers.
