James Murphy
Casterton Sandford 12.5 (77) d East Gambier 8.18 (66)
THE battle of Dogs and Cats was won by the latter in Saturday’s Round 3 Western Border meeting between East Gambier and Casterton Sandford.
Played at McDonald Park, the visiting Victorians were eager to bounce back from their second-round loss to Millicent, while East was on the hunt for its first win of the season.
An arm wrestle ensued in the first half and at the main break scores were locked at 32-all.
From there though it was Casterton Sandford which was able to seize the upper hand and played out the game to claim a 77-66 point win.
Cats coach Kane Forbes said the Bulldogs had the momentum at the first change, where they held a two-point advantage.
However, he was pleased with the turnaround in the second quarter, where he felt the Cats were able to wrestle back some control.
“I thought the second quarter we played pretty much all on our terms,” Forbes said.
“Obviously it was level at half time and then we were able to get a little bit of breathing space at three-quarter time.
“East kept kicking one here and there to claw back, but we were good enough to just hold on.”
Forbes said the message at half time was simply to address some of the basics and ensure what the Cats had practiced on the training track was translated into their game.
He was pleased with the way his team ran out the match, with the four-quarter effort a reflection of the team’s improved fitness.
After missing last round, Ed Pritchard returned to Casterton Sandford’s line-up on Saturday and made an immediate impact.
He was named best-on-ground, with Forbes impressed by his efforts.
“He did a power run and got to contest after contest and gave us plenty of drive going forward,” he said.
“He took some really good aerial marks as well.”
Ethan Currie and Billy Galpin were also solid on the day, while Jack Thompson impressed as he stepped into a slightly different role.
“We lost Matt Killey early in the game, so we had to throw Jack Thompson forward from the backline,” Forbes said.
“I thought he did a fantastic job once he went forward – he took some big marks and converted in front of goal.”
Dylan Ayton and Hamish McCrae were also among the best, as they continue their strong starts to the season.
McCrae bagged two goals for the match, as did Currie and Justin Carlin, while the Cats had six single goal scorers in a diverse performance in front of the big sticks.
Forbes also gave credit to a couple of team players, who were not mentioned in the best, but did not go unnoticed by their coach.
“Nick Schembri has been playing in the midfield and he went to full back on Saturday,” he said.
“I thought he had a really good game and just sacrificed his own game for the team.
“And little Zac Nash – his crumbing work and defensive pressure as does not go unnoticed.
For the Bulldogs, Patrick Hatch had a solid game and was named best-on-ground for his efforts, while Carl Slape, Sam Lock and Luke Johnston were also in good form.
Garret Ha topped the scoresheets with a game-high three goals, with Shaun Lock also bagging multiples with two majors.
The loss of Matt Scanlon due to injury hurt the home team, as he started the game strong.
East will now regroup and address some things on the training track in preparation for this week’s clash against West Gambier.
The meeting could see the Bulldogs with their first win of the year, while the Cats face the ultimate challenge in South Gambier next round.
