NORTH GAMBIER 15.8 (98) d SOUTH GAMBIER 5.5 (35)
NORTH Gambier continued on its winning way in round seven of Western Border football on Saturday, with a resounding victory over South Gambier at Blue Lake Sports Park.
The win came on the back of an eight-goal haul from coach Justin McConnell, who added to his season tally so far to still lead the league by a comfortable margin.
McConnell presented well up forward, but was made to work hard for his possessions.
Despite that he was able to find the big sticks or hand off opportunities to other Tigers.
That included Hamish Telford who finished with three goals, Matt McInerney with two, plus Dylan Munn and Thomas Gould who contributed one each.
While it was not a huge score, the 15 major scores were far ahead of South’s five.
After just 20 minutes of the opening term the Tigers had already began to impose their authority on the contest, with the scoreboard reading 2.3-15 to zero.
McConnell, Hamish Stevens and Matt McInerney all looked dangerous up forward, while Nick McInerney was his usual hard-running self through the middle.
South was well represented again by youngsters Brock Kedding and Kaleb Bowd, who showed plenty of run through the middle of the ground and out wide on the wings.
Brent Howard was also finding plenty of the Sherrin for the Demons, but by the first break North held a comfortable 26-point advantage.
The second term opened with another goal to the Tigers before the Demons could counter.
That came through a mark inside 50 to Todd Reid and the Demons finally had a major score on the board.
However, the Tigers were six goals clear and were not about to let the Demons back into the contest.
Reid added another soon after off a 50-metre penalty, but North had already continued its push and remained well in front.
By the long break the margin was 43 points and the Tigers looked home.
South pushed hard after the break, but the Tigers were at their classy best, able to spread the ball across the ground and create options up forward.
With McConnell coming under plenty of pressure, he managed to crumb a ball off his own marking contest and dribble it through the middle of the big sticks to typify the day’s play.
Scott Fleming took advantage of a 50-metre penalty and banged on another major for the Demons as South matched North on the scoreboard for the term.
But it was all in vain, as the final term began still with the same 43-point deficit to overcome.
The final stanza played out as much of the game had, with the Tigers winning the ball in the centre and pushing forward, or bouncing back from the defensive zone to thread the ball up to the waiting forwards.
Big man Brett Kennedy was solid in the ruck, providing first use and working hard around the ground, while the running Tigers were able to find space to work.
Star Demon forward Brayden Kain was kept quiet by Jordan Hollitt, with just two major scores for the day.
The Tigers now face a bigger test as they take on East Gambier at McDonald Park on Saturday.
It should provide a real indication of where each side is at, with the Bulldogs running into some individual and team form after a big win over Millicent.
