NORTH Gambier’s “never lose at home” philosophy remained in tact on Saturday, when the Tigers ravished Casterton Sandford by 86 points in their round-five Western Border football meeting at Vansittart Park.
The return of Matt McInerney was welcomed by the Tigers and he was a lively inclusion to the forward line, booting seven goals for the day and claiming the best-on-ground honours.
Joined by several other contributors, the outcome of the match became clear early on, as North opened the game with three quick goals, before Hamish Telford scored his two for the day – one after the siren – to see the Tigers up by five straight kicks at quarter time.
A goal to Casterton Sandford’s Ricky Killey opened the second term and provided a glimmer of hope, but the hosts answered every Cat goal throughout the match.
By the long break the margin was 49 points and the Cats had been shut out of the game, never a chance to come back.
The Tigers’ hard work during pre-season paid off in the second half, as they showed no signs of slowing down and out-scored the Cats six-goals-to-one in the third term, before continuing to control the game until the final siren.
The match had been all but decided by half time, but North did not take the foot off the gas for the full four quarters.
McConnell was proud of the effort shown by his Tigers, which was the perfect way to bounce back from last round’s disappointing result against West Gambier.
“We wanted a really strong response after last round,” he said.
“To the guys’ credit, Saturday was probably the first real four-quarter performance we have had.”
The willingness to learn and adapt in a game situation was one strong point McConnell credited the side on and said it was that determination which saw the game blown apart.
“They have worked really hard over the off season to be fit and rock hard,” he said.
“It is an easier game to play when you get contributors in every line and we got that on Saturday.
“We had a lot of winners all over the deck.
“Last round we really struggled to find a four-quarter performer, while this week we probably had 15 or 16.”
Of those McInerney was a standout and took some solid marks in front of goal, which were complimented with dangerous accuracy.
“He kicked seven and looked really dangerous and lively up forward,” McConnell said.
McConnell said McInerney should play enough games for the Tigers to qualify for finals and he will be a big asset to the side as the season progresses.
Both Hamish and Michael Telford were also in fine form, while Nick McInerney was a driving force through the middle of the ground.
“Hamish Telford is having a really good season and he was fantastic and Michael Telford was really good,” McConnell said.
“Brad Stafford was also good and Jake Schutz is having an outstanding year at centre-half back.”
Charles Schutz rounded out the best players for the Tigers on the day, but it was a team effort which saw the score blown out.
For the Cats, Justin Carlin upheld his consistent season to be named as best-on-ground for his team, while Will Macdonald played another solid game in several positions.
Dylan Ayton was also among the top contributors despite the result, while Glen Widdicombe, Hamish Carlin and Luke Kelson rounded out the Cats’ best players.
Kelson had the job of defending McConnell and held the Tigers’ coach to a single goal on the day, but with Matt McInerney stepping up it did little to prevent the slaughter.
Casterton Sandford will hope to bounce back this weekend when it hosts South Gambier in the round-one rematch, while the Tigers will look for another dominant performance when they host Millicent.
