By Trevor Jackson
Kalangadoo 36.16 (232) d Nangwarry 5.5 (35)
It was a day out for Michael Krieger on Saturday – and more importantly his Kalangadoo team mates – as the Magpies put on a clinic on their home deck against Nangwarry.
The Mid South East football Round 6 clash was simply a one-sided contest, as the Magpies ran rampant and the Saints were simply never in the contest.
Krieger was the recipient up forward for the Magpies, as he led with confidence and nailed 10 major scores as a result.
He was joined by a long list of team mates finding the big sticks in a game which showed the strength and desire of Kalangadoo to claim a premiership flag in 2022.
The opening term set the scene as the home side hit the ground running and banged on 9.5 (59), while the Saints could only manage three goals and a minor score.
Unfortunately as the game rolled on the Magpies pushed hard, despite being slowed up somewhat in the second term due to the prevailing wind.
The Saints kicked two behinds in the second quarter but nothing more until the last term where they added two majors and two minor scores.
Meanwhile it was the Magpies’ day and despite holding a 54-point half-time lead, they pushed on in the third term to decimate the Saints, adding a further 12 goals.
If that was not enough, the final stanza, even into the wind, was still all about the Magpies, as they ran the game out and added a further 13 goals.
With plenty of options up forward, Kalangadoo was able to draw on a long list of goal kickers, 11 in total, with Krieger topping the list with his 10 majors.
While Krieger would have been a major focus for the Saints to stop, the Magpies had plenty of other options.
Patrick Davies popped up with six goals, while Ben Gregory added a further four.
Lachy Jones and Tye McManus added three each, while other multiples went to Matthew Davies, Alex Lyon, Emayah Young and Jamil Jones with two each.
Andrew Hyland and Luke Thomson managed two goals each for the Saints but a clear lack of delivery hampered their efforts.
The win pushed the Magpies to the top of the ladder by a large percentage margin over Hatherleigh.
Coach Kevin Stark said one major focus this season was about a four-quarter effort, which clearly panned out on Saturday, along with sharing the load up forward.
Again the game went to script, with Stark more than happy with the overall effort considering the pressure applied by the Saints.
“Every time we went inside 50 we wanted to be unpredictable and mix it up,” he said.
“I think with Michael Krieger, he probably would have had a few more goals for the season if delivery had been better.
“We are starting to get better and now blokes like him who are very good come into the play a lot more.”
Despite Pat Davies and Ben Gregory almost playing second fiddle to Krieger, 10 goals between them was certainly welcome by Stark.
“Blokes like Ben Gregory, he plays his role where he can be higher up the ground which takes him away from the goal,” he said.
“His work rate is really good and he gets back into scoring position.
“Pat is a pretty amazing talent and plays good team football.
“He is great through the middle of the ground as well and is a phenomenal player.”
Tye McManus is another player who had a standout day, along with Mitch Lowe, with the pair named in the best players for good reason.
“Trying to pick the best players is unbelievably hard,” Stark said.
“A lot of the time it is your repeat offenders, such as Mitch Lowe and Tye McManus.
“Tye is quite impressive to watch, how elusive he is and Mitch, you would think he is a lot older, the way he plays and carries himself but he is just a kid really.”
The core group provides a tough challenge for any side to counter, with Stark keen to spread the load even wider.
“I don’t want to have a situation where we have a big win and the best six is obvious,” he said.
“The most pleasing thing for me is how even the contributions are across the board and the players’ willingness to play a different role for the team if it is for the good of the team.”
The six best players on Saturday included Davies, McManus, Lachy Jones, Lowe, Krieger and Gregory, a core group any coach would be happy to take on.
But Stark was quick to point out it is a predominantly local side, apart from himself.
“It makes a big difference they know each other well,” he said.
“Pat came back this year but he is a local and knows all the boys.
“They are all friends, local boys and have played a lot of footy together.
“They have grown up together, have all been around the club for a long time and it makes it an easy group to work with.”
