Picture: FRANK MONGER
IT was a tough, well-deserved win for East Gambier on Saturday in round two of Western Border football at McDonald Park.
The Bulldogs faced Millicent in the grand final rematch and were probably expected to claim the victory, considering the outs for the reigning premiers this season.
However, the absence of Mark Rumbelow, Shem Balshaw and Nick Lock left big holes to fill in the East lineup, leaving the Bulldogs vulnerable.
The Saints came to take the contest up to last year’s runners-up regardless of personnel on the ground, which was apparent in a tight first term.
Neither side had an advantage, with both backlines holding strong.
For Millicent it was Craig Gysbers and Dylan Tinknell who stood up to the early barrage, while for East it was Matt Scanlon who rallied the troops on the last line of defence.
Kade Bradley made his presence felt early for the Saints, but a fortuitous goal to Patrick Hatch had the Bulldogs up and running.
While the opening term seemed somewhat of an arm wrestle, East moved the ball into the forward 50 more often and a long goal to Kev Thomson provided a 13-point lead at the first break, with the Saints unable to find a score at all.
The writing was then on the wall and when the Bulldogs kicked the first two of the second term it looked like a formality.
A free kick to Peter Duncan in front of goals changed that, then another soon after had the Saints finally up and about.
However, East responded through a lightning clearance from John Forster, on to Jayden Eldridge, to Hatch and then to coach Matt Willson to finish off.
Mark Kieselbach made his return to the A Grade ranks from reserves and had an immediate impact around the ground, while Kurt Rodis provided first use of the ball out of the ruck to the runners on the ground.
By the long break the margin was 26 points, which flattered the Saints considering the possession the Bulldogs enjoyed.
The quarter was dominated by Forster and Eldridge, who helped create momentum which carried through to the third term.
The Saints showed more a more competitive attitude after the long break, but still could not hold the Bulldogs down.
Nick Ash soccered one home off the deck in the opening seconds to create some momentum for the visitors, but Shaun King responded for the home side.
Duncan added his third of the day and the Saints were still in the contest.
Fraser Scanlon and Tom Williams held their own in the East back half, resisting the Saints attack.
By the final term the margin had stretched out to 33 points and Millicent faced a big test.
But the Saints rallied and outscored the Bulldogs in the final term, but not by enough to have an impact on the outcome, with the home side holding on for a solid 23-point victory.
East shared the goals around, with nine separate scorers, while the Saints lacked firepower up forward, with just four players finding the big sticks.
For Willson it was a welcome win, up against what he considered a solid lineup.
“I think Millicent plays a good brand of football and their younger players back themselves one-on-one all over the ground,” he said.
“We knew if they got their tails up a little bit they would be hard to stop.
“They had some patches there where they did get up, so we were pretty happy to get away with the win.”
Willson said he was pleased the way his roster stood up, with three big names out of the lineup.
“You don’t want to go into any game with that calibre of players on the sidelines,” he said.
“But we are pretty happy with where our list is and are able to bring players in who can play a role for us.”
Willson was pleased with the effort of Forster and Eldridge, who he said created a winning mentality early in the game.
“They are both quality players and absolute work horses,” he said.
“From the second quarter and for the remainder of the game they picked a few players up and carried them on their shoulders.
“John is a consistent player and does all the team things, which sometimes go unnoticed.”
Willson said in the cold and windy conditions he was pleased to grind out the win.
“A big focus for a lot of teams this year is that consistent performance,” he said.
“If you do have a down patch or a down quarter any side will take advantage.
“We were really happy to get the four points and grind out a win like that.”
