CASTERTON Sandford has continued its undefeated 2018 Western Border football season with a comfortable 30-point victory over South Gambier.
The Cats travelled to Blue Lake Sports Park after spending the last five rounds on the cosy confines of Island Park.
But it made little difference in the end as they controlled the game from the second term, after an early challenge from the Demons.
The playing surface was in far better condition than last week, with the rain holding off for the senior match, but with plenty of moisture on the ground.
South came in on a roll after two straight wins, but the Cats have taken all before them this season, with just the one draw to their name and no losses.
Callum Currie and Dylan Ayton were both back in the Cats’ lineup, but the opening term saw the home side take the contest up to its more fancied rival.
South claimed the first major of the game through Mason Hein, but the Cats respond through Currie, who stood tall in the goal square and grabbed a strong mark for an easy conversion.
The game continued two-and-fro for the remainder of the term, with both sides finding two majors, but the Cats held a slim two-point advantage at quarter time.
However, after the break the Cats opened the game up, found some run and finished off, with Currie grabbing another major, along with Billy Galpin and Ayton.
Tynan Shannon and Ben Guthrie were providing plenty of run out of the backline, with Will Macdonald having his usual effect in the ruck and around the ground.
However, the likes of Brett O’Neil and Brent Howard worked hard through the mid-field for the Demons, with Brayden Kain leading well up forward and Carl Slape having a major impact on the contested football.
But at the long break it looked bleak for the home side, with the Cats out to a handy 33-point lead and looking the far better side.
The third term saw the Demons hit back early, with a strong mark from Matt Sutton and a nice chip in to Slape, who finished off to provide a spark.
When Kain snapped from a contest in front of goal, suddenly the Demons looked up to the challenge, with just a 21-point deficit.
However, the Cats cleared from centre at the next bounce, with a high kick forward finding Currie for another major to turn the tide.
Slape found some run off the wing and kicked long down to Kain, who muscled a strong mark against Angus Cleary and goaled from 30 metres out.
The game continued to entertain, with the Cats unable to put the Demons away and when Henri Capewell goaled, the margin was just 14 points.
However, the Cats resisted the attack and hit back, with Ayton chipping around a pack into coach Hamish Jarrad for an easy set shot to settle the side just before the final break.
The Demons clearly won the term, but with 20 points the margin at the final break, there was still a long way to go to pull off an unlikely victory.
The final stanza became a stalemate for the opening minutes, with both sides throwing everything at the contest.
Slape continued his good work for the Demons, while Josh Stephenson was finding plenty of the football for the Cats.
Taylor Saffin and David Boyd were solid at the defensive end of the ground for the Demons, which eventually paid off when Kain was awarded a free kick in front of goals for a major score and a 16-point deficit.
The game was on in earnest, but again it was the Cats who stood tall, with Ayton claiming a major mid-way through the term to make the job tough for the home side.
In the end the visitors prevailed in a game where the scoreboard did not really reflect the entertainment value of the contest.
Jarrad said he approached the game wary of the Demons coming off a successful period.
“We were aware they have continued to improve through the year and we knew they were going to come out with a lot of confidence,” he said.
“In the end I was pretty happy with the win.
“They are a pretty good footy side and playing some good footy, so to go over there and get the points, I was pretty happy.”
Jarrad said he thought his players overused the football in the opening term, passing to stationary players and not clearing the ball well.
“I put it on the mid-fielders to pick up their clearance work,” he said.
“I think at quarter time the clearances were level, but we went plus seven in the second quarter.”
After running away with the game in the second term, Jarrad said it was a credit to the Demons to hit back in the third.
“We had a massive emphasis at half time of putting the game away,” he said.
“We have a bit of a habit at the moment of getting four or five goals in front then taking the foot off a little bit.
“I put it on the boys to put the foot down and put the game away, but to South’s credit they came out and did not enable us to do that.
“They beat us to the footy and used the ball really well, but I was happy by the end of the third quarter we had wrestled the momentum back in our favour and went on with it in the last quarter.”
While it was another comfortable win, the worrying thing for the rest of the competition is the Cats were not at full strength, with plenty of class to return to the ranks in the coming weeks, including the likes of Tom McArlein and Michael Cummings.
Given that, Jarrad said he was pleased with the effort of the side in recent rounds, which has placed it in a good position at this time of year.
“Over the last few weeks we have had a fairly big turnover of personnel, so to keep banking the points is a really good effort by the group,” he said.
“Over the next six weeks we will start to get our list back together and try to build our form into the finals, but at the moment it is just about getting those wins and making sure we secure the double chance.”
