THE closest Western Border football match on Saturday saw North Gambier host West Gambier in a high-pressured contest at Vansittart Park.
Playing for the Tom Hall trophy, the game remained up for grabs until the final term, where the Roos were able to tough it out and take home the win by 17 points.
Since its inception in 1973, this is just the 10th time West has won the trophy, making the victory all the more rewarding.
From the first bounce the Tigers applied heavy pressure, through which they were able to score the first major of the day.
This was shortly answered by a West goal and the scores sat on seven apiece, before North’s Brock Egan banged a major through later in the term to see the Tigers in front by six at the first change.
The high intensity play continued into the second term, with both sides wrestling for space as they attempted to move the ball towards their attacking end.
A solid play from North which saw it pass the ball back around its defensive line, before delivering it to an open wing showed a glimpse of last year’s runners-up, but a bad ball bounce saw the Roos intercept it through the midfield.
This was somewhat the story of North’s day, as simple skill errors were often its undoing as it fought its way down the field.
These mistakes were mostly due to the constant pressure from the Roos, while the Tigers retaliated with the same level of intensity.
Goals were all well earned and West was able to take the lead before the long break, with three goals and two behinds resulting in a one-point lead at half time.
With the third term continuing to see high-intensity and hard-tackling football, West was able to capitalise to find the big sticks on four occasions, while North kicked three majors.
Going into the final stanza with an eight-point lead, West opened the ledger for the fourth quarter when youngster Kyle Giddings banged through his second for the day.
This was soon followed by a massive goal from North’s Glen Soper, which saw him boot the ball from the centre and with no one in the backline, some lucky bounces saw it through for a major score.
This saw it back to a 10-point game at the seven-minute mark and a win on their home deck remained within reach for the Tigers.
However, with the only other major before the siren coming off the boot of West’s Jake Blackwell, North suffered its ninth defeat for 2018.
Coach Brad Wilson was happy to come away with the win on Saturday, especially after last week’s scrap in the wet against Millicent.
“It was a good contest all day,” he said.
“They certainly come out ready and you know with Winis (Imbi) he’s always going to have them prepared well.
“It took all day really to get it done.”
Wilson was pleased with the way his team came together on the weekend.
“I was pretty happy with the whole squad,” he said.
“We worked on some things and everyone did their part.
“We had some guys with roles and they did that really well.
“I liked Sam Robson’s game at full-back, especially early.
“North were pressing pretty hard and he had some big spoils.
“All over the ground we had a lot of guys improve from previous weeks, so that’s pleasing for me.”
Lawry Bradley-Brown had another big game for the Roos, earning his place as best-on-ground.
His influence around the ball and ability to take a solid mark when needed saw him a dangerous presence on the field and also resulted in a major score.
Steve Wenman was also in solid form, with his interceptions often resulting in a West goal.
Rising talent Giddings joined Wilson and Blackwell at the top of the scorer’s list, with each player bagging two goals for their efforts.
Fellow young-gun Reid Kuller also made his mark on the scoreboard, as well as around the ground, finishing with a goal, along with Tom Holmes and Josh Schapel.
When asked of Giddings and Kuller’s performances on Saturday, Wilson had nothing but praise for the young footballers.
“They are both in good form,” he said.
“They are young, they have a go and they do what I ask of them.
“Their attack on the footy is spot on and exactly what we want.”
For North, Soper was named as the Tigers’ best, while Jordan Hollitt, Sam Stafford and Jake Schutz were also rightly named among the best.
As was William Lewis, who was in peak form on Saturday, going after the hard ball and converting when given the chance.
This saw the rising player with three majors for the match.
West will see itself in another match-up of the round this weekend, when it faces Casterton Sandford.
“They’ve got us the last two times, but not by much,” Wilson said.
“They are going pretty well, they haven’t lost yet.
“We know we are in for a tough game.”
