IT is never an easy trip across the border to face Casterton Sandford at Island Park, but West Gambier was up to the task when it claimed a solid 41-point win in an intense battle against the 2018 minor premiers.
The Roos would be happy to bounce back from their loss to East Gambier after the siren in round one and they now carry some much-needed momentum into yet another week off.
It was a consistent effort across the board which saw the guests victorious and West playing coach Brad Wilson had difficulty selecting his best on the day.
A total of nine players contributed to the Roos’ 13 goals, with young talent Jett Attard showing plenty of determination on his way to a game-high three majors.
Garret Ha was also in fine form to score two goals, while he was named second best, one spot ahead of Attard.
But it was the effort of Lawry Bradley-Brown which was rewarded with the best-on-ground honours, as he worked tirelessly throughout the match.
Adelaide recruit Ben Papps made an impact early, with two first-quarter goals to set the tone for the day.
At the first change the Cats trialled by five points and had West found its mark more frequently, the margin would have blown out before half time.
However, with two majors and five minor scores in the second term, the Roos remained within the Cats’ reach with a 15-point advantage heading into the long break.
The Cats came out firing in the third term, as Nicholas Georgiadis snapped through a goal in the first minute, but the Roos answered in full force as they straightened up in front of goals.
Attard ran onto a ball inside 50 to put it through under pressure, while Steve Wenman scored soon after to see the margin at 20 points.
A solid play down the ground saw young Cat Jackson Gibbs with a mark and goal in front, but from there the quarter was all West’s.
Dwayne Phillips put one through to put the hosts on the back foot, while Ha took a solid mark and converted to add another six points to the total.
Finally, Josh Schapel kicked towards goal from around the 50-metre mark and a favourable bounce saw it home, with the difference 34 points at the final break.
However, Casterton Sandford refused to back down and hit hard in the fourth, with two consecutive goals to start the quarter.
But that run was put to an end when Bradley-Brown answered with a big goal 10 minutes in.
From there the Cats had several forward entries, but the West back line, which included the likes of Steve Wenman and Tom Zeitz, stepped up to deny the home team the finishing touch.
During that quarter Wenman took several strong intercept marks which prevented the Cats from re-entering the contest, with the result a solid 90-49 point win.
Casterton Sandford was best served by Will Macdonald in front of goals, as well as in the ruck and wherever else he was needed on the day.
He scored two goals and was named as the Cats’ best, flying high as usual at the centre bounce.
Ben Guthrie played a solid game to be named second best, after a frustrating game on South Gambier’s Brayden Kain last round.
Madison Rogers and Tim Malone were also among the best, while the pace from Kyle Carlin and Tom Sullivan was first class.
Sullivan in particular provided plenty of run down the wing, while he was often the one to clear the ball out of the danger zone during an attempted attack from the Roos.
Wilson was happy to recover from the round-one loss and was pleased with the whole-team effort from his side.
“We were all pretty disappointed to lose last week after the siren, but it was a good win there on Saturday,” he said.
“We still have some things to work on, but our intent was a whole lot better.
“Casterton has a pretty physical style of game and the first half was pretty rough and tough.
“It was good to see the young boys get through that and use the space in the second half to grab the win.”
Wilson struggled to pick single players who stood out and instead gave credit to every piece of the puzzle which came together to create the entertaining football which was on display.
“We were pretty good all over,” he said.
“It is pretty hard to beat Casterton down there, you know you are there for a four-quarter game as soon as you walk in the gates.
“You can’t let up at all, so the backline stood strong and I was really happy with how our midfield performed.
“We kicked some good goals too – a little bit wasteful early – but we straightened up in the second half and it made a difference.”
Due to the split round-three draw, West will have two weeks to prepare for a home game against South Gambier, while the Cats head to Millicent on Saturday for a showdown with their arch rivals.
