James Murphy
NORTH GAMBIER 16.8 (104) d CASTERTON SANDFORD 8.6 (54)
THE North Gambier Tigers roared to life on Saturday and finally put that elusive four-quarter performance together to power over a visiting Casterton Sandford outfit.
The club will be pleased to have its second A Grade win on the board, after letting victory slip from its grasp in recent weeks.
On their home deck the Tigers made the going tough for the Cats, stacking on five goals in each of the first three quarters on their way to an eventual 50-point triumph.
At half time the margin stood at 33 points and North kept the foot on the gas from there.
Sam Stafford was dangerous in the forward line and finished his game as North’s best on ground with an impressive six-goal haul.
Casterton Sandford was not without its own highlights up front and Ricky Killey was a key target, bagging four majors.
However, the intensity and speed shown by the Tigers proved too much on the day, with a 52-point lead at the final change.
North coach Ben Hardy was pleased with the output from his team on Saturday.
“It was nice to get another win on the board,” he said.
“We have been searching for that four-quarter effort for the last couple of weeks and I felt like we finally got that.”
The result came from a full-team performance, which was shown by the best player selections on the day.
Every area of the ground earned a mention, with Stafford leading the way up forward.
Through the middle ruckman Brett Kennedy stood tall, as did Nick McInerney, while defenders Tim McInerney, Jordan Hollitt and Jake Schutz were the backbone of the team.
“The defence really set us up yesterday with pressing high and being really strong and aggressive with that,” Hardy said.
Due to the absence of Mitchell Kelton, Kennedy was relied on in the ruck for majority of the match.
He earned the Tigers first use of the ball, while even pushed forward to score a goal on the day.
Hardy also gave mention to a couple of players not listed in the best.
Brett Shepherdson played a good defensive role on Cats star Diarmid Cleary, while Dale Bachmann continued his strong start to the season.
“When you have a good win, sometimes it is thanks to your midfielders or it is your forwards,” Hardy said.
“I just felt like Saturday was a really strong contribution across the whole board.”
The Cats were still without Matt Killey due to injury, which hurt them through the midfield.
However, Hamish McCrae stood up and put in another best-on-ground performance in what is shaping up to be a standout season.
Nick Schembri has also come into his own and provided resistance down back, helping to contain Justin McConnell.
McConnell kicked three goals on the day, which could have been greater had it not been for Schembri’s efforts.
But with so many avenues to goal, which included the likes of Nick Blachut, Nick McInerney and Hamish Telford – each with two goals – there was little the Cats’ backline could do on the day.
