Tigers triumph over Bulldogs

TOUGH DISPOSAL: North Gambier’s Dylan Munn struggles to dispose of the ball under pressure from East Gambier’s Nick Lock in Round 11 of Western Border football on Saturday. Picture: FRANK MONGER

A SECOND-QUARTER blitz set up a North Gambier victory over East Gambier in Round 11 of Western Border football on Saturday.

The reigning premiers had the home-ground advantage at McDonald Park, but could not recover from a five-goal quarter where the Tigers simply opened the game up.

The Bulldogs were without playing coach Matt Willson on the ground, but had plenty of run to replace him.

They also boasted three brothers in the same grade for the first time, with Shem, Tully and Flynn Balshaw all lining up.

For the Tigers it was an impressive effort from the likes of Matt McInerney up forward, who finished the day with three goals.

He was well fed from Brock Egan and Hamish Telford, with the latter contributing a best-on-ground performance.

Despite the somewhat damp conditions underfoot, North moved the ball well and often found their Bulldogs counterparts wanting.

However, with little in the contest at the end of the day, it certainly lived up to the hype surrounding such a game, despite both sides’ respective positions on the ladder.

The day began with a cold breeze blowing up the ground, with East taking advantage early in the contest.

Jack Dawe was in the play early, pushing down the ground but Jake Schultz and Tim McInerney held strong.

Mayson Ashby made life hard for the likes of Luke Thomson, but Giancarlo Cooper ended up with the first shot of the day, although it was off line and the Bulldogs had to reset.

Meanwhile Telford began to have an impact on the wing, with a strong mark, which would herald a big day out.

Nick Lock began to flex his muscles and push forward, but after a mark on the 50-metre line to Mark Rumbelow, the decision was reversed when Kev Thomson had his say and went on with the push-and-shove.

However, in the end it was Thomson who would have the last laugh, as he bent a kick from the boundary off the outside of his boot through the middle for the first major of the day.

Rumbelow added to that soon after with a snap off a pack and suddenly the Bulldogs looked dangerous.

However, Telford responded for the Tigers and at the first break there was just four points favouring the home side.

But that all changed in the blink of an eye as the second term began.

East pushed forward early, but a shot went wide, then the Tigers found some run and banged on three goals in almost as many minutes.

The game had opened up, with the breeze picking up and favouring the visitors.

Jesse Fry began to find his way, with Jayden Eldridge also having an impact on the contest.

However, even a fine diving mark to Josh Ransom could not hold back the tide.

Eventually Rumbelow found a mark within range and split the middle to stop the rot.

Austin Kitschke found himself on the end of a long kick inside, was awarded the mark and goaled, but Rumbelow responded again with another set shot and the game was set up for an epic showdown, despite the Tigers having much of the running.

By the long break the dust had settled and the Tigers held the advantage to the tune of 14 points and the game became a stalemate from there.

The Bulldogs failed to take advantage of the breeze in the third term, with four extra shots on goal, but just two majors for their efforts.

East took the initiative early, which resulted in a classy goal to Cooper.

Mark Kieselbach was dominating the ruck contest, while Ransom began to have a huge impact on the mid-field.

In the end he would equal Telford’s effort for the Tigers.

For North it was the likes of Nick Blachut and Mal Lewis who began to shine and at the final break North had managed to open the margin to 15 points on account of three straight majors.

The final stanza was setup for an entertaining half hour of football and that was the way it would pan out.

The Bulldogs were playing catch-up football, while the Tigers had the luxury of controlling the game.

Both sides pushed hard to their respective ends of the ground, but when Kitschke kicked his second of the day the result was settled and East had to concede another game lost.

Despite his side’s defeat, Ransom was a standout on the day, as was Telford for the Tigers, with both showing plenty of class in their respective positions.

Jake Schutz was also influential for the Tigers, as was Dylan Munn and Ashby.

As a result of the victory North climbed off the bottom of the ladder, now just four points behind the fourth-placed East.

However, going on season form those four points could be hard to drag back, with the Tigers facing Millicent this weekend.

But the Bulldogs also face a big test in the undefeated Casterton Sandford, with little chance of returning from Island Park victorious.

Should those two games go as expected, little will change, although South Gambier is a chance of victory over a West Gambier side that is struggling for numbers at the moment.