James Murphy
Millicent 11.9 (75) d East Gambier 4.13 (37)
THE Saints could not be stopped as they marched their way to a comfortable win over East Gambier on Saturday.
Millicent hosted the Round 10 clash and were relatively untroubled by the Bulldogs.
The match started with promise from both sides but some inaccuracies cost East.
As such the Saints won the initial arm wrestle and when youngster Eli Redman kicked their third goal late in the opening term, the nine-point margin was the closest the Bulldogs would find themselves for the remainder of the day.
Millicent doubled its score in the second quarter with a further three goals, holding East to two behinds.
A 30-point half-time lead left the Saints comfortable moving forward but they did not ease the foot off.
They posted their biggest return of the match in the third quarter.
Millicent piled on five goals to East’s one, putting the result beyond doubt.
To the Bulldog’s credit they finished strongly and added two goals as they held their hosts to one minor score.
However, it was too little, too late and they remain at the foot of the ladder with a single win for the year.
Saint’s coach Clint Gallio was for the most part pleased with the game and said it was a good result leading into this weekend’s blockbuster against South Gambier.
“There were a couple of little things we will address this week and fix up a little bit, but overall I was pretty happy,” he said.
“It was a tight tussle and a bit of an arm wrestle but I think we did enough to get the game on our terms and control it.”
The regular culprits were at the head of Millicent’s success, with Sam Willis earning the best-on-ground honours.
Gallio said it was probably his best performance of the year.
“I thought his game was really consistent and he got himself into some good spots and back to some of the form we saw from him last year,” he said.
Frazer Bradley has been a highlight this season and continued his impressive form on Saturday, while Redman was also in fine touch.
They found plenty of the ball as they helped the Saints deliver the ball into attack.
“Once we get our legs going and get our runners on the outside, that is one of our strengths and it was really nice to watch,” Gallio said.
Once again Dylan Bromley led from the front with three goals in another strong performance, while Hamish Nitschke matched those figures in his third game back for the Saints.
Jacob Carger has been another regular goal scorer and joined Jacob Todd with a pair each.
That diversity in front of goal has been a positive for Millicent this year and will be critical again against the Demons next round.
The Bulldogs were once again best served by co-coach Jayden Eldridge, whose presence around the ground was vital in moving the ball forward.
Nick Walters was also solid, while Luke Johnston, Nick Lock and John Forster have been consistent performers of late and put in commendable performances.
Despite the eventual scoreline, East will take merit from its never-say-die attitude, which helped it find some momentum in the final term.
The opening quarter was also solid and the Bulldogs will chase the same intensity when they clash with North Gambier next round.
