WEST GAMBIER 19.6 (120) d CASTERTON SANDFORD 9.8 (62)
IN a Western Border football round full of blow-outs, West Gambier trumped over cross-border rival Casterton Sandford to the tune of 58 points at Malseed Park on Saturday.
The proposed match-of-the round failed to live up to its potential, as the Roos hit hard early and established a three-goal lead by the first break.
From there the Cats were unable to sink their claws into the game and West ran away on the scoreboard.
Despite a comfortable 37-point lead at half time, it was the third quarter which saw the Roos really break the Cats’ back.
Although the margin was only extended by five points by the end of the term, the Roos controlled the play and were relentless in attack, leaving the Cats with plenty to answer for heading into the final stanza.
Casterton Sandford managed a few good goals of its own in the “premiership” quarter, but lacked the polish shown by the hosts.
The Cats needed to lift in the final term, but three unanswered goals from the Roos sealed a convincing round-seven victory.
Overall it was an impressive team performance from the home team and a result which was pleasing for coach Brad Wilson.
“It was a good performance,” he said.
“We have had some sore bodies, so we tried to focus on a good start.
“Casterton is a pretty physical team, so I am pretty happy with the end result.”
A total of 12 Roos found the big sticks at least once in the clash, with Jett Attard leading the way on the scoreboard with four majors, in addition to a mention among the best.
Jordan Williams, Ben Papps, Garret Ha and Jordan Coombe also scored multiples with two goals each.
But it was not only the forward line which saw West excel, with every section of the ground well manned.
Lawry Bradley-Brown was his usual dangerous self through the middle, while Tom Zeitz was a general in the backline, stepping up in the absence of an injured Steven Wenman.
Zeitz was named as the Roos’ best-on-ground for his efforts, while brother Sam was second best.
Youngster Reid Kuller also put in a solid performance and received a mention, while Michael Minuzzo played hard all day.
Ha was another who was in good form and he managed to find space wherever he went, with one instance resulting in an unchallenged run into goal from 50 metres out.
Despite the margin, Wilson felt the game remained up for grabs at the long break and was pleased to see the Roos step up a gear in the second half.
“It was pretty open early on,” he said.
“Both teams had a lot of shots and kicked some good goals.
“I was happy with the goals we kicked, but we probably leaked a few to them.
“They won some midfield footy and scored goals from that.”
However, West tightened up through the midfield after half time and dominated from there on.
“They were still in touch at half time, so we tried to focus at the break and make sure our third quarter was solid,” he said.
“The first 10 minutes of that third quarter we kicked a couple of good goals and that set us up.”
For the Cats Will Macdonald was a standout and rightly received their best-on-ground honours.
He played forward for much of the game and used his height to great advantage, banging through two goals and setting up several others.
Dylan Ayton was also strong off half back, while he moved forward as well to top score for the Cats with three majors.
Youngster James Boulton was named as second best for his hard work, while Luke Kelson was also among the top performers.
Looking ahead to round eight, the Roos travel across town to face South Gambier at Blue Lake Sports Park.
Wilson said recovery will be the focus this week, with plenty of sore bodies within the ranks.
For the Cats, a home game against a still win-less Millicent should produce a better result for the Victorians.
