AN understaffed Millicent outfit suffered at the hands of West Gambier on its home deck of McLaughlin Park on Saturday, when the two sides met for Round 14 of Western Border football.
The Saints were without coach Clint Gallio and Tom Hutchesson due to state commitments, while Matt Duldig, Hamish Nitschke, Will Fleming and Dylan Tincknell were also big absences on the day, as the club celebrated its heritage round.
However, the result should be credited as much to the Roos’ massive four-quarter effort, as they ran away to an eventual 11-goal victory over the former ladder leader.
The guests hit hard from the first siren and saw the game through to the end, not backing off until the match was won.
West coach Brad Wilson was in dangerous form all day and finished with a five-goal haul to show for his efforts.
His first major came in the fourth minute of the first term and opened the ledger for the match to give the Roos a lead they would not give up.
From there a goal from Millicent’s Mitchell Reilly saw the score within a point, but what followed put the Saints on the back foot early.
Nathan Taylor banged through a solid goal at the 16-minute mark in his first game back from injury.
That was followed by a goal from Sam Zeitz – his first of three – and another from Tom Zeitz before quarter time to give the Roos a 21-point lead.
Tom Zeitz joined Wilson as top scorer – with five for the match – in an impressive performance for the young star as he returned to the side for the first time since Round 8, after recovering from a broken arm.
Millicent young gun Sam Willis narrowed the margin early in the second quarter with a goal, but Wilson soon replied with his second.
That was backed up by an impressive contested mark right in front, which resulted in another major for Wilson.
Willis had another opportunity to score, with a run down into the forward line with with plenty of space, but a behind was the result.
A high kick from West’s Josh Schapel saw Wilson on the end of another impressive grab and he banged it through from 25 metres out for his fourth.
A goal to Hamish Gordon on the siren reduced the margin at the long break, but with 26 points the difference and West controlling the momentum, it was going to be a tough task for Millicent.
The Saints were able to double their score and add three goals to the board in the third term, with Joe Walker, Reilly and Dylan Bromley all finding the big sticks.
However, that did nothing to narrow the deficit as West had its biggest quarter, scoring six goals.
A soccer goal from Wilson saw him with his last for the day, but where his major scores stopped, Tom Zeitz’s continued, as he claimed four second-half goals.
Dale Robbins also hit the scoreboard in the second half, as did Steve Wenman and Todd Lewis, while Sam Zeitz reached his total of three for the match.
Lewis’ goal was an impressive snap from an angle about 45 metres out, capping off the ruckman’s solid performance, which saw him work tirelessly to provide West with first touch of the ball.
With just five behinds in the final stanza, Millicent had few answers for the West onslaught and went down by 66 points.
Joe Walker had plenty of pace around the ground for the Saints, as did Gordon and Willis, with them all among the best.
But it was Jonah Grimes who took the best-on-ground honours for the clash, as he worked hard in the ruck and through the midfield, while Steve Duldig was also in good form down back.
Wilson understood the Saints were without some key personnel on the day, but that did not take away from the victory.
“Millicent was undermanned a fair bit, but they were on top of the ladder for a reason,” he said.
“They don’t lose down there (at McLaughlin Park), so we really put it on ourselves after last week’s loss to build on it and do just a little bit better.”
And the Roos certainly achieved that, with the side not faltering for the length of the match.
“It is pleasing to see, it is probably something we haven’t had all year, we still have the odd down moment,” Wilson said.
“It is a young side and it is hard to get the full four quarters, so to get it late in the season is pleasing.”
The top four of the competition continues to heat up and Casterton Sandford’s big win over North Gambier puts the Cats back on top of the ladder, with just percentage separating them from the Saints.
That also remains the case for West and East, with the former holding onto third position by just 3pc.
“That’s what is good about the competition this year,” Wilson said.
“You can’t rock up at any stage and think you are going to take the points, you have to show up and put everything out there.”
Wilson said it was hard to choose best players, as it was the team effort which saw them across the line with flying colours.
“We had Tom Zeitz back in which really helped,” he said.
“We had a few guys who have probably been down a little bit and out of form and some of those guys showed good signs on Saturday.”
Wilson described the Zeitz boys’ performance as “awesome” and it was Sam who received best-on-ground for the round, while he also mentioned Lewis, who was second best.
Lawry Bradley-Brown had another solid game and was also among the best, as was Ricky Lindner and Robbins.
“It was a real cliché, everyone did their bit,” Wilson said.
“We knew Millicent like to start well, so we came prepared for that and tried to weather the storm and it was a real team game.”
