SOUTH Gambier chalked up its first win for the 2018 Western Border football season with a rousing 31-point victory over North Gambier on Saturday.
Facing the Tigers in their heartland of Vansittart Park and with no wins for the season, the Demons achieved the unthinkable with much of the success on the back of a nine-goal haul from Brayden Kain.
Kain has been in top form this season, with only a lack of supply thwarting his efforts so far.
Saturday saw no problem there, with the Demons only falling behind in the second term, then sneaking out to a two-point lead late in the third term before banging home eight majors in the final stanza to claim the honours.
South was well served by Brett O’Neill through the middle of the ground who was at his best, while the support of Jake Tentye and Brodie Glynn ensured plenty of forward pressure.
But it was Kain who ensured the Tigers hurt, with a fine display of the contested mark and the boot to finish it all off when it mattered.
He was supported up forward with the return of Carl Slape, along with former Pioneer Matt Sutton in is first senior game, providing two extra tall players in the forward half.
It all added up to an impressive result for a side that has been on the end of some big losses this season.
The Tigers were on the mark early, but could only manage to muster a one-point advantage at the first break.
From there they threatened to break the game open, with six major scores to four in the second term, providing a 16-point lead at the long break.
South was suddenly on the back foot, but the “premiership” quarter saw plenty of magic from the underdog.
The Demons began to find possession and push forward, while Kain finished the job in front of the big sticks.
Defensively the likes of Nick Jenkin and Taylor Saffin allowed few options for the Tigers’ forwards, with the Demons holding the home side to just one major score and a couple of minors, while banging on 4.2 to turn the game around and claim a two-point advantage at the final break.
With the momentum flowing their way the Demons pushed on, with an accurate display in front of goals seeing a further eight goals and just one behind in the final term, while the Tigers had to settle for one goal and two behinds.
Young Henri Capewell chipped in up forward with three majors, while O’Neil finished off a pair himself.
At the end of the day it was a welcome win for coach Heath Mitchell, which he said was a result of plenty of hard work both on and off the ground.
“The result for us was probably less to do with the two hours on Saturday and more to do with what the boys have been doing right off the field,” Mitchell said.
“The boys have really bought into the fact that we needed to raise a few standards around the club in terms of our training and preparation and they have been doing that now for a considerable period of time without getting the rewards.
“We have played some good quarters and good halves against good sides and probably Saturday was the first time we thought we put four together.
“To get the reward was a real confidence boost for our club.”
Mitchell said the second term was probably the only time the Demons allowed the Tigers to play their natural outside game, which was reflected on the scoreboard.
From there they returned to the pressure contest and turned the game around, then run on in the final term with a real desire to claim their first win of the season.
“At three quarter time we spoke about the fact we were genuinely sick of being competitive,” he said.
“We wanted to get that win.
“We are all very pleased we have remained competitive this year, but you get to a tipping point and Saturday was it.
“The real desire and hunger in the group came together and the boys fought really hard and desperate and managed to run away with the game a bit.”
Mitchell said he was pleased with the performance of the mid-field, which again fed the ball well into Kain, who simply finished the job.
“It was a combination of Kain’s brilliance down there, but also our boys’ ability to get the ball in deep to him,” he said.
“Kain gave us the rewards for that.”
Mitchell said players such as Jake Tentye, Chris Williams and Connor O’Reilly play specific roles, closing down some of the stronger North runners, which allowed the likes of O’Neil and Nick Tarca to be more effective around the contest.
But he said one of the key differences this week was the return of Slape in the forward half, along with Sutton, which took some of the focus off Kain.
“Matt Sutton in his first senior game and Carl Slape at centre half forward was huge for us,” he said.
“That forced North to defend our back six.
“In the past a defensive six has been able to be very Kain focused, but this week they had to defend three talls and I think that was a critical piece of the puzzle for us.
“Matt Sutton was a great story and the highlight of the day was for him to kick his first goal in seniors and have the entire team run down and get around him.
“He is an amazing talent to come across from that basketball background and transfer those skills.”
The win was achieved without the services of Brad Bryant and Ty Opie, but Mitchell said it was a reward for the whole club.
“South Gambier is a really happy place to be at the moment,” he said.
“The standard and the numbers are really high at training and we have a magnificent reserves side who are a lot more competitive this year.
“We have an exceptional colts side who are going for back-to-back flags.
“It may surprise some people to know it is a real joy to be out there at the moment.
“Saturday was just some reward for all that hard work.”
