NORTH Gambier went into its Round 2 clash against Millicent with something to prove, after it went down to the Bulldogs in last week’s grand final rematch.
However, it soon became apparent this would be no easy feat, when the Saints came marching in to Vansittart Park on Saturday.
The final result saw the Saints race to the top of the Western Border football ladder with a 41-point victory.
With the home-ground advantage, the Tigers were in the game early, with a 10-point margin at the first break, but from the there it was all Millicent.
A huge second term saw the hungry Saints dominate, with six major scores, plus four behinds, while holding the Tigers to just three behinds.
The third term saw some extra spark from the Tigers, but with a taste of victory, the Saints would not go away.
Millicent added a goal and held North to just two with the wind, but by the final break the margin was 20 points and a tall order given the prevailing conditions.
The last quarter saw the Saints kick on, with five majors, while limiting the Tigers to just two.
In the end the Saints desire was simply too strong, which saw them leapfrog from third place on the ladder to top.
Best for the Saints were Hamish Gordon and Joe Walker, while the Tigers were best served by Mayson Ashby and Fraser Marshall.
For the Saints, goals came from nine different players, with Hamish Nitschke topping the list with three.
Dylan Bromley and Gordon managed two each.
Marshall was the only multiple goal kicker for North with two goals.
Saints coach Clint Gallio was obviously pleased with the result, which he said simply came from hard work around the ground.
He said the first quarter set the game up, despite the deficit on the scoreboard.
“They had the wind in the first quarter and I thought we defended really well,” Gallio said.
“I was really stoked the way the boys stuck to what we want to do.
“It could have got pretty ugly with the wind pushing their way.
“We did the hard work early in that first quarter, defensively and the contested footy and that set us up.”
From there Gallio said his players were smart with the ball, working it around rather than bombing away expecting the wind to carry it through the goals.
With much talk pre-season about the effect Matt Duldig would have on the ball, he was quiet, but the Saints still managed to find 13 goals against a tough opposition on a hard day for football.
“Recruiting Matt is obviously a bonus and a lot of people were saying he would kick all our goals, but we do have a lot of tricks up our sleeves,” Gallio said.
“Hamish Nitschke kicked three, Hamish Gordon popped up for two and that is the beauty of our side.
“If one bloke is held down, we have others who can pop up and kick the goals for us.”
Gallio said another area of the game he thought his side excelled at was simply pressure on the ball.
“Something we really pride ourselves on is our pressure, intent and tackling,” he said.
“Lyndon Smith and Hamish Gordon really got us going in the middle – they would have had close to 15 tackles each.
“Lyndon Smith, when he tackles you, you really know about it.
“Then I think the guys down back like Dylan Tinknell, Reece Duncan and Graig Gysbers, they just do not like getting beat.
“If they get beat, the next time they make sure they get it back.
“But they are just a few.
“We have quite a few guys who roll through there and they just do their job, which creates a bit of pressure.”
Gallio said at this early stage he felt his side was coming together well and as the season progressed should improve further as they continue to gel.
