Picture: JAMES MURPHY
THE Tigers’ roar echoed over Vansittart Park last Thursday for the annual Anzac Day clash between North Gambier and South Gambier.
Despite an even first half, the Tigers hit their straps after the long break and tore away from the Demons for a resounding 64-point victory.
To add the icing on the cake for the honourable occasion, North’s Hamish Telford received the coveted Tony Casadio medal for best-on-ground as judged by the umpires.
Just one win separated the two sides at the end of last season, but North headed into the game the slight favourite.
However, when a classy play saw Brayden Kain bang through the first goal of the match, it was game on.
North’s Tom McLennan responded with a major, while a free kick saw Tigers’ playing coach Justin McConnell with his first of seven goals.
The intensity continued to rise as South’s Connor O’Reilley found the big sticks to keep the Demons in touch, before Fraser Marshall answered for the Tigers.
Late in the first term youngster Kyle Jones found Kain to give the tall forward his second goal before the break.
However, that five-point deficit was the closest the Demons would get for the remainder of the game.
South had plenty of the ball in the second term, but was unable to capitalise in front of goal.
Meanwhile, North piled on another three majors to lead by 18 points at the long break.
Another solid quarter followed, as the Tigers added 4.5 to their score, while the Demons managed to hit the board with two goals of their own.
Although the margin was just 33 points at the last change, North stamped its authority on the match in the final stanza.
The message in the South huddle at three-quarter time from coach Brett Exelby was “full on attack”.
Instead of attacking, the Demons found themselves giving away costly free kicks, which saw McConnell bag four goals in a row early in the term, three of which were a result of South penalties.
There was no recovery after that and North held a 99-40 point lead 10 minutes into the quarter.
Scoring slowed down from there and at the siren the Tigers emerged comfortable victors, 107-44.
Despite the scoreline, South’s defence was strong all day.
Taylor Saffin in particular did well on McConnell and limited the key forward’s opportunities until that last-quarter blitz.
For his efforts he was named as South’s best, while Brett O’Neil and Liam Denton’s experience was well received around the ground.
The victors were best served by Telford, while Brett Shepherdson was named as second best.
Tom McLennan was also in fine form and his hard work was rewarded with three goals.
McConnell was pleased with his team’s performance and put the Tigers’ four-quarter effort down to their “arduous” pre-season.
“Our guys worked really hard over the pre-season and it is a good reward now to be two and zip,” he said.
“We challenged a couple of guys at half time who had dropped their work rate a touch and those guys responded really well.
“Then collectively as a group we were able to just raise the bar a little bit, which was important.
“Our second halves in both games have been really strong and our ability to win the ball and spread it has been a standout so far.”
McConnell was impressed by the backline on the day, which provided valuable passage down the ground to the forwards.
“I thought Hamish Telford and Brett Shepherdson were really good,” he said.
“Dylan Munn, Josh Jenner and Sam Stafford – their run and carry – and I thought Nick McInerney and Fraser Marshall in the middle were really important when the game was on the line.
“We changed it up a little bit and the guys have responded accordingly.”
When asked of his own performance, which saw him almost equal his round one eight-goal haul with seven majors, McConnell credited the high scoring to the work done up the ground.
“We kicked 19 goals in the first week and 16 on Thursday,” he said.
“We wanted to be a team that could score, but that is all on the good work up the ground.”
Accuracy was also a contributing factor and McConnell said the players have put in extra work at training to ensure they finish off well.
Looking ahead both North and South have a week off due to a split round-three fixture.
“It gives us four really good sessions to prepare for East,” McConnell said.
“They have been a real benchmark for the last couple of years.
“It is a great challenge for our group to see how far we have come.
“We look forward to it and we will prepare well.
“We want to make Vansittart Park a real fortress for us at home.”
