ISLAND Park was the place to be for Western Border football on the weekend, as the split round saw Catsterton Sandford host South Gambier for the only Round 5 match-up on Saturday.
This saw the Cats celebrate their 2018 debut on their home ground, with some standout individual performances in the senior game on the day.
A joint effort in front of goals saw both Callum Currie and young-gun Tynan Shannon score five majors each in the Cats’ solid 68-point win over the Demons.
Both stood tall in the forward line, taking solid grabs inside the attacking 50, before finishing off with deadly accuracy.
But it was Tom Sullivan who received the best-on-ground honours, with his effort through the midfield once again a driving force in the Cats’ attack.
To its credit, South held its own in the early stages of the game and was not completely overrun, despite the margin at the final siren.
The game started as an arm wrestle, with the ball moving back and forth down the ground, with the first quarter seeing the Demons kick two goals to the Cats’ three.
Shannon opened the ledger for Casterton Sandford, while Sullivan bagged the next two for the term to finish with his total for the match.
In the second quarter the Cats were able to extend their hold on the game, but it was not without South applying pressure.
With six Cats goals for the term, Currie made his first mark on the board with a major, while Shannon also added to his tally.
Going into the long break with a 30-point lead, it was in the second half where the Cats’ stepped up a level, as Currie and Shannon led the charge to a 6.0 quarter.
Corey Jarrad opened the half with a goal for the Cats, before Currie banged two through in three minutes.
But the onslaught was not over, as Shannon backed up his efforts with two more from strong marks in the forward line.
Currie rounded out the majors for the term with his fourth for the day, while South managed just one goal and two behinds.
With one quarter to go, the Cats held a comfortable 58-point lead and had the game in hand.
The contest slowed on the scoreboard, with the Cats missing easy set shots to finish with five minor scores for the final term, while bagging just two majors.
South up-and-coming star Todd Reid was the only goal-kicker for the Demons in the quarter, with his second for the game.
Suffering a 68-point loss, Reid led the way on the scoreboard for South with his two goals, while Nicholas Patzel, Brent Howard, Jack Capewell and Bryant scored one each.
Rising star Kaleb Bowd also played his part, earning the best-on-ground honours for the Demons, after shutting down Cats’ playing coach Hamish Jarrad.
Every possession Jarrad had saw Bowd hot on his heels, with the young Demon catching him out with a tackle on more than one occasion.
“If I was his coach I would be really proud of him,” Jarrad said.
“He stuck to his task and did everything that was asked of him.”
Brett O’Neil had a strong presence around the ground, while Taylor Saffin and Ty Opie were also in good form to earn their places in the best players.
Ben Miller was another solid performer for the Demons, while Bryant had an impact as well.
Jarrad said he was impressed by the performance displayed by the Demons on Saturday.
“Their kids really stuck to their guns and they came to play,” he said.
“I thought in the first quarter they probably played the better footy.
“They played through the corridor really well and we were probably a bit loose in our coverage.
“South are definitely heading in the right direction.”
With the guests holding their own early, Jarrad said it was after half time where the Cats brought the game back to their preferred style of football.
“I thought after half time we got back to our defend first, then attack mindset,” he said.
“And once we got that, we started winning the footy and getting it on our terms.”
Aside from the obvious standouts up forward in Shannon and Currie, along with Sullivan’s midfield game, Trent Nesbitt stood tall in defence once again, while Billy Galpin had plenty of run through the midfield.
They were both named among the best for their side, along with Angus Cleary.
Jarrad praised these players on their efforts on the day, while also stating how the hard work from everyone around the ground allows these stars to shine week in, week out.
“As a team we are all doing our job really well together,” he said.
“And that is enabling those good players to go and win the footy.”
This ability for everyone in the side to stand up and play their role shows the depth of the Cats, which was clearly on display on Saturday, as it was without two of its key players.
“Dylan Ayton has just had an arthroscope on his knee,” Jarrad said.
“He’s been carrying a bit of a tear in his meniscus the last couple of weeks.
“And big Will (Macdonald) has been pretty sore the last couple of weeks – he gets knocked around a lot, so he just needed the week off to manage his body.”
Jarrad said both players should be up and ready to go again when the Cats host West Gambier in two weeks time, in a match he expects to be another close affair.
“I’m expecting a close game, they are playing some good footy,” he said.
“The way they played Round 1, they were really good inside the contest.
“I thought they probably beat us in the contest.
“So at the smaller ground (at Island Park), it shouldn’t hold them any fears.”
