ON an ordinary day for football, Millicent continued its push to remain at the top end of the Western Border ladder with a comfortable victory over West Gambier at Malseed Park.
While the final margin was only 10 points, it was enough in the atrocious conditions to hold the Roos at bay and claim the premiership points.
Despite being one of the best grounds in the region at the moment, the Malseed Park surface suffered from heavy rain and the preceding games on the day, looking more like a mud bath than a football oval.
The game would be about possession and who could muscle the ball forward and apply scoreboard pressure when the opportunity arose.
And it was the Saints who did that best, with more of the attacking play early in the game and the reward came through Dylan Bromley, who bagged the first of his three for the day.
The home side was finding plenty of the ball and Josh Schapel defied the conditions to fly high for a marking opportunity early in the opening term.
The conditions won on that occasion, but not before a big cheer from the die-hard fans who had made their way along to watch.
However, soon after Schapel made his mark, with a running goal to close the margin and keep the Roos in touch.
It was not long before ruckman Todd Lewis was in on the act, with a free kick down-field and a goal the result, with the lead now in the hands of the home side.
But the Saints continued to push hard in front of goals and as a result took a slender two-point advantage to the first break.
From there Millicent seemed to show a bit more intent, with Bromley banging on two more quick goals to almost put the game away before the rain began to fall heavily.
In the end it would be the deciding factor, but at that early part of the contest it was still very much in the balance.
Once the rain hit both sides struggled for space, simply banging the ball forward to break the many packs that were forming on the muddy surface.
The game degenerated into a real grind, but by the long break Millicent had created a lead that would stand and allow the side to claim yet another victory in what had become a stellar season.
The final half saw the home side threaten to run over the top of the visitors, holding the Saints to just two behinds until the final siren, which included a scoreless final term.
The third term saw a major score from the Roos, but that was the last of the day, with neither side able to beat the weather, with Millicent running out victors by 10 points, which in the end was a healthy margin given the conditions.
Saints coach Clint Gallio said the day was simply about pushing forward whenever possible.
“Before the game I could not really say much and during the breaks the message was pretty simple,” he said.
“We just had to keep boring in, contest after contest, getting it forward.
“We tried to concentrate on being first to the footy, picking it up and kicking.
“We were not getting much purchase when we were trying to soccer it off the ground.
“When we were picking it up we were clearing 20 or 30 metre kicks, rather than five to 10 metre kicks along the ground.”
Gallio said the way his players worked in the conditions was pleasing, with the final result a credit to their efforts.
“We could not really play the way we wanted to – that was just the way the day was,” he said.
“It was a slog and credit to both sides.
“It was not a pretty game of footy to watch or to be a part of.
“We were happy to get the win and the way we did it was good, just to fight it out all the way to the end.”
By the time the final quarter had arrived energy was sapped and it was a matter of finishing the game off, but with the Roos threatening to come home strong there was no time to rest.
“At three quarter time the message was just one more go, one more 20,” Gallio said.
“We just had to keep making it a contest.
“I think we did that really well and just kept getting the ball forward.
“We just kept trying to kick the footy down the line and managed to hold on which was pleasing.”
But while Gallio said it was good to have a buffer over West in second place on the ladder, there was still a long way to go in what was shaping up as a tough season.
“We are really happy as a group, consistently doing things we want to do and playing well,” he said.
“To have that little bit of a buffer is nice, but we are not going to get too complacent.
“You do not know who will win and there are no easy games.
“You look at the scores on a Saturday night and it is anyone’s guess who has won.
“That’s why we have to be on our game every Saturday.
“If you’re not you could lose.
“It is good footy and it is good rocking up on a Saturday and 2.30 knowing you are going to get a contest no matter who you play.”
