Trevor Jackson
Port MacDonnell 11.12 (78) d Kongorong 11.3 (69)
Port MacDonnell held off a fast-finishing Kongorong to claim victory in Round 10 of Mid South East football on Saturday.
The hosts managed to secure the victory but not without a scare, after controlling the contest for three quarters.
A 41-12 lead at the first break suggested the Demons were on for a big win and they outscored the Hawks up to the final break.
From there it appeared the damage had been done, as the Demons held a 37-point advantage and looked to be in control.
However, the Hawks were certainly not done and made a big run in the final stanza, as they banged on five major scores while holding the Demons goal-less.
But it was too little, too late as the Demons had done enough to hold on in an entertaining final quarter of football.
Tim Sullivan was again a strong focal point for the Demons up forward with four majors, while Kev Thomson chipped in with three.
Will MacDonald was at his best, controlling the ruck contest throughout the day as Sullivan focused more up forward in the absence of Jake Turner.
Coach Simon Merrett was pleased with the outcome and felt a fast start was the difference in the end.
“They were up and about and probably our start really saved us in the end,” he said.
“We got away to five goals in the first quarter and that was the difference for most of the game.
“They came back hard in the last quarter to kick four goals in about six or seven minutes.
“They attacked us pretty hard and we struggled to defend it.”
After the Round 1 clash where the Hawks pushed the Demons to the final siren, Merrett said he expected them to be a top-four side.
He expected a big challenge in Round 9 and was pleased with his side’s use of the ball.
“We thought if we could get on top early they would struggle to claw the lead back,” he said.
“We were pretty happy with the way the game was played on our terms but a bit disappointed with the last 10 minutes.
“We just failed to do what we have been doing for two years and went away from our structures.
“But it was a good wake-up call for us.
“It exposed a few things we need to work on.”
Merrett was pleased with the effort of MacDonald around the ground.
He gave the big ruckman a huge workload and MacDonald responded with one of his best games of the season.
“It was the Will MacDonald of six or seven years ago,” Merrett said.
“He rucked probably 90 per cent of the game himself.
“Tim (Sullivan) looked dangerous up front so we left Will in the ruck.
“He got on top, controlled the air all around the ground, got the ball going our way and got it to our on-ballers where they like it.”
As the clock wound down the scoreboard tightened up and the Hawks threatened to run over the weary Demons.
Merrett said it provided plenty to work on in the coming weeks.
“It was not so much they got so close to us but we went away from what we like to do in those situations,” he said.
“We will have a look at that in the next few weeks.”
The Demons sit out this weekend with a bye, before facing the powerhouse Kalangadoo in Round 12.
Merrett suggested the Magpies are a class above the rest of the sides and is keen to test his players against the benchmark of the competition.
“We are ticking along all right but have a lot of improvement to work on,” he said.
“We have time up our sleeves so we are looking forward to getting into that at training and see how we stack up against Kalangadoo.
“Hopefully in another few weeks we will be playing our best footy and winning games.”
