James Murphy
WEST GAMBIER 13.9 (87) d CASTERTON SANDFORD 7.8 (50)
THE Roos bounced back in a dominant cross-border display on Saturday to post their second A Grade win of the Western Border football competition.
West Gambier made the journey to face Casterton Sandford and had plenty to prove after a Round 1 loss to the Cats.
In the end it was a huge third quarter which decided the game and allowed the Roos to rectify their opening-round disappointment.
With the wind in the first term the Cats held a two-goal lead at the change, while West found itself down a man when Joe Judd came off with a concussion.
However, the Roos piled the pressure on in the second quarter to level the playing field at 34 points apiece heading into half time.
From there the Roos were able to maintain their high pressure level and banged through six majors to ice the game in the third quarter.
It was an impressive performance from West, especially without the services of coach and ruckman Daron McElroy due to Covid.
Assistant coach Nathan Lewis stepped up on the day and he could not have been happier with the result.
The game somewhat mirrored West’s recent loss to East Gambier, which was even at half time before the Bulldogs surged in the “premiership” quarter.
Lewis said it felt good to not be on the receiving end this time.
“Our midfield really got on top and were dominant around the stoppages,” he said.
“We basically starved them of the footy and got repeat entries inside 50 and banged on six goals.
“We piled them on and sort of put them away in the space of a quarter.
“That has happened against us, so it was nice to do it to someone else.”
Lewis felt his team had similar control in the second quarter but it did not really translate onto the scoreboard until the third quarter.
“It was just a matter of sustaining that pressure,” he said.
“We knew if we could keep that up and not let them get exits from stoppage, that was where the game was going to be won.
“It wasn’t the scoring end we were kicking to, but it soon became that when we got dominant.”
Brayden Olds stepped up in the ruck and put in a solid four quarters to earn the Roos first use of the ball and earn a place among the best players.
However, it was Lawry Bradley-Brown who was named West’s best-on-ground.
He had a serious case of leather poisoning on the day, while he also inspired those around him as West dominated stoppages in the second half.
Lewis said the final term was a stalemate as West brought off some sore players midway through the term.
Goals were shared around for the Roos as Dylan Gillies, Aden Pfitzner and Jordan Williams kicked three each, while Michael Minuzzo bagged two.
Usual culprits Nathan Taylor and Ben Papps failed to find the big sticks, but Lewis said their impact inside 50 was still felt.
For the Cats Adam McKinnon continued to find shots at goal and scored a team-high two majors.
Ricky Killey was denied his usual prominence inside 50 and scored only one goal as Dale Robbins played another key shutdown role.
The return of Lewis Lean and Todd McPartlan was welcomed and both played well, with the latter among the Roos’ best.
Williams was also impressive, while Kyle Giddings had another solid game as he played a role on Diarmid Cleary.
Both teams now face a challenge as West hosts North Gambier and Casterton travels to play ladder-leader Millicent.
