James Murphy
NORTH GAMBIER 12.11 (83) d EAST GAMBIER 5.11 (41)
IT is starting to come together for North Gambier after six rounds of Western Border football.
The Tigers put in another solid four quarters under the tutelage of coach Ben Hardy to best East Gambier at Vansittart Park and record consecutive victories.
The game opened evenly and the tussle for control continued up until half time.
From there the hosts refined their play style and were able to break away from the Bulldogs on their way to an eventual 42-point win.
North kept its opponent guessing and its 12 goals were shared between 11 players, with only Sam Stafford kicking multiple.
It comes as a positive sign for the Tigers in a competition where the leading teams – South Gambier and Millicent – have proven versatile in front of goal.
Down the other end they were equally impressive and it was Jordan Hollitt who put in a best-on-ground performance.
He intercepted strongly and even pushed forward for a late goal.
Hollitt was joined by the likes of Jake Schutz and Dale Bachmann who were also solid down back, while Justin McConnell’s new midfield role saw him slip back into a defensive role when required.
They held the Bulldogs to one second-half goal and their six-point lead at half time was pushed out to 22 by the final change.
Hardy said the first half was a bit of a scrap but he was pleased with the turnaround from his team after the long break.
“I felt like in the second half we really started to get it onto our terms and play the sort of footy we wanted to play,” he said.
“I was really pleased the boys were able to readjust at half time and come out with a slightly different style in the second half.”
With so many names on the scorer’s list, including a couple of backmen, it appears Hardy’s attacking brand of football has started to bear fruit.
“This year we have really focussed on that even spread and having midfielders who can go forward and be damaging,” he said.
“It is really pleasing to see that is moving in the right direction.”
Dylan Munn was named as North’s second best in a breakout performance, while Stafford also featured.
The Bulldogs were best served by Nick Lock who continued his solid start to the year.
Co-coach Jayden Eldridge was also solid and he led by example as he pushed hard to make ground through the middle.
James Byrne and ruckman Carl Slape also put in the hard yards.
However, it was not enough on the day and East was again left to ponder on what could have been.
For North it seems it is heading in the right direction and will hope to continue to build against West Gambier next week prior to rematches against South and Millicent.
“Obviously with a new coach coming in the processes are going to take a little bit of time,” Hardy said.
“I think we are really starting to get into the groove of what those processes and structures are.”
A few big ins of the likes of Toby McAllister, Toby de Wit and Brett Shepherdson will be welcomed by the Tigers in the coming weeks and they could be a team to watch moving forward.
For East its second win is likely to remain elusive for at least another week, as a clash with the Demons looks ominous next round.
