James Murphy
Millicent 12.5 (77) d North Gambier 8.13 (61)
Millicent footballers claimed a win at home when they hosted North Gambier under lights on Saturday night.
The Saints welcomed the Tigers for an anticipated Round 4 meeting which at the first change looked to be going the way of the guests.
North put the pressure on in the opening quarter and held a handy 16-point lead at the break, but Millicent surged in the second term to wrestle back the supremacy.
An impressive seven-goal quarter pushed the Saints in front, while they held the Tigers to just one straight kick to head into the main break with a 21-point advantage.
Upon his return to the side following the birth of his first child, coach Clint Gallio was pleased with the turnaround in the second term.
“We started pretty slow, but we tweaked a couple of things and we got the game back on our terms,” he said.
“We had quite a young squad so it was even more pleasing that we were mature enough to switch it around so quickly.”
Gallio said it was the usual culprits for North who had a major impact in that opening term.
Hamish Telford and Nick McInerney were ripping through the midfield, while up forward Sam Stafford looked dangerous.
“We changed a few things up the ground to try and make it easier for our defenders and I thought we did that really well,” Gallio said.
“Good players like that are always going to find the footy, but if we can limit their influence – which I think we did – we were going to get the game back on our terms.”
Those changes worked a treat and the Saints were able to gain back some valuable control through the middle of the ground.
The hosts carried the momentum into the second half and remained solid despite the Tigers’ efforts to use a slight breeze advantage in the third term to take some long-shots on goal.
The tactic did not pay off on the night and a return of 1.6 left North down by 22 at the last change.
An even quarter concluded the match and at the final siren Millicent claimed a 16-point win.
Sam Waring worked tirelessly in the ruck for the full four quarters, following the last-minute exclusion of Finn Grimes.
He put in a mountain of work to give the Saints first use of the ball at stoppages, while also doing the hard yards in and around the contest.
However, it was youngster Kalan Shanks who was named best on ground for Millicent.
Shanks has had some recent Glenelg experience and on Saturday found himself playing an important role in the Saints’ backline.
At times the 16 year old found himself one-on-one against North forward Justin McConnell and to his credit emerged the better of the contest on several occasions.
“He didn’t get out-marked, ran off with the footy and his disposal was pretty good,” Gallio said.
“His consistency over four quarters was what really stood out, being such a young kid.”
Frazer and Kade Bradley were also in fine form and were responsible for many deliveries into the forward 50, while Dylan Bromley and Sam Willis put in consistent performances.
For the Tigers Telford was named best-on-ground as he put in his usual workhorse performance through the midfield.
McInerney was also recognised for his similar trademark efforts, while down back Tim McInerney and Joel Griffith were solid.
Goals were shared evenly for both teams, as Jaxon Cushion, Kobe Gibson and Noah Lang bagged two each for the Saints, while Brodie Allen, Nick Blachut and McConnell also finished with a pair of majors.
A lady’s day was also held on the night with a marquee set up by the club to raise funds for breast cancer.
