NORTH Gambier announced itself as a serious contender for the 2019 Western Border football premiership, with a stinging 42-point win over East Gambier on Saturday.
Despite the round seven clash taking place at McDonald Park, the 2018 runners-up were out of the contest from the start of the second term.
From there the Tigers began to find run and space, feeding the ball forward and making better use of possession.
By the long break the writing was on the wall, with the Tigers enjoying a three-goal margin.
While the Bulldogs had plenty of possession around the ground, they could not hold down the Tigers in the final half.
A somewhat even third term saw North take the upper hand by a few inaccurate kicks, but they had opened a big enough margin to run the game out in the final stanza.
A total of eight Tigers contributed major scores, with coach Justin McConnell on the end of four.
It could have once again been a bigger haul from the current 2019 leading goal kicker, but he missed a few he would have been expected to kick.
However, the final result saw his Tigers run away with the contest and put the league on notice, before this weekend’s match of the round against West Gambier.
East approached the game without the services of coach Matt Willson on the ground, who instead called the shots from the sidelines.
The Bulldogs did boast former Magarey Medalist Jeremy Clayton in the lineup, with a strong side on the park.
The game went back and forth for the opening minutes until Hamish Telford found a major to start proceedings off.
Kev Thomson soon responded for East with a nice crumb off and the game was on in earnest.
However, whatever East came up with, North had a response and by the first break the Tigers were up by a goal.
The second term saw North break away, with four major scores to two and a handy lead going to the long break.
Tigers’ coach Justin McConnell made his presence felt, proving a handful for Matt Scanlon to control.
Eventually the sheer weight of possessions paid dividends and while he was offline with a few shots, he soon made his opportunities count.
Ciaran Buckley, Nick McInerney and Mayson Ashby began to find space through the middle and deliver accurately up forward.
After the long break the Bulldogs needed to find something special to stay in touch and reduce the 29-point deficit.
However, Fraser Marshall found the big sticks for the Tigers and they continued to roll on.
When McConnell found the going tough and hand-balled over the top to Jake Stafford, another goal resulted and the writing was on the wall.
Thomson set himself up wide for a Bulldogs major, but before he could take his kick a 50-metre penalty was awarded which resulted in an easy goal to stop the bleeding.
But in the end it was not enough, as the Tigers set up an unassailable 22-point lead and in the final term ran away with the contest.
The end result was an emphatic 42-point win, which consolidated the Tigers hold on the top of the ladder, on the same points as the Roos, with the two sides showing the rest of the competition a clean pair of heels.
McConnell said the plan going in was to start well, which he was pleased with.
“They had a really good first quarter against Millicent the week before and probably put the game beyond doubt,” he said.
“We knew we had to match them at the start, then try to get the game on our terms and control the stoppages.
“I thought overall our back six’s ability to defend really strongly was good.”
McConnell described the win as “brave”, considering Hamish Telford and Brad Stafford were injured during the contest, leaving the Tigers with just 20 players.
“Those injuries provide opportunities and I thought Tom Gould and Dylan Munn stepped up into more prominent roles,” he said.
McConnell said Buckley’s work was outstanding on the wing, where he created plenty of space going forward.
Likewise he said McInerney was impressive, with his ball clearance and accurate delivery.
“The ability of the guys to hit targets, to lower their eyes was good,” he said.
McConnell also made note of Marshall and Brett Kennedy.
“Frazer Marshall – his leadership and toughness gets quite infectious,” he said.
“With him and Nick McInerney in there, plus Brett Kennedy rucking one-out against two good ruck men, it lifted the side.
“When Brett Kennedy plays well, we hardly ever lose.”
While there were plenty of contributors on the day, the Tigers as a side are a far cry from last year where they won just three games.
McConnell put that down a couple of simple things, which were evident on the ground on Saturday.
“There is a really good spirit among them at the moment,” he said.
“They enjoy playing for each other and they are playing a brand of footy they believe in.
“I think they are getting some enjoyment out of it and they are united.”
The Tigers now prepared for the top-of-the-table clash against West Gambier on Saturday, which should provide a glimpse into what to expect in September.
