James Murphy
North Gambier 16.7 (103) d East Gambier 5.9 (39)
A CLASS display from North Gambier proved too much to handle for East Gambier in Round 11 of Western Border football.
The Bulldogs hosted the match at McDonald Park but after a goalless first half, had little reply to the Tigers’ onslaught.
Led by spearhead forward Sam Stafford, North proved why it is in the top three of the competition this year.
Good connection play and accurate kicking was the key to success, which in contrast was something the home team struggled with.
By half time the visitors held a 40-point advantage, while the Bulldogs had managed only five behinds.
They did not find the big sticks until a 50-metre penalty helped youngster Jack Lawrence to his first A Grade goal well into the third quarter.
Despite East tripling its score in the term, the Tigers had their biggest quarter of the game to bang through six majors and hold a commanding 11-goal lead at the final break.
What followed was the only even quarter of the match, when both sides kicked three goals as East finally seemed to find some accuracy.
However, the result was already decided, with the dominant performance pleasing for North coach Ben Hardy.
After three consecutive losses, including a disappointing upset to Casterton Sandford last round, it was a positive statement from the Tigers.
“I felt like it was a good response from what happened the previous week against Casterton,” Hardy said.
“We weren’t happy that we got bullied around the contest and we wanted to make sure this week that didn’t happen again.
“For us it was really important to take the sting out of the game in the first five minutes.”
They did just that and were able to flex their muscles for four quarters in a performance which showed North at its best.
Stafford was a cut above and finished the day with a blistering nine goals and the best-on-ground honours.
Nick McInerney was also impressive and put in a strong captain’s game through the midfield, while pushing forward for three goals of his own.
The remaining goals were shared around, with youngster Jacob Arthurson scoring his first A Grade goal, while fellow young-gun Tyler Harris scored an impressive snap from the pocket.
Brett Shepherdson played an important role on East co-coach Jayden Eldridge, while Justin McConnell and Jake Schutz were vital in creating that passage play from the backline.
Hamish Telford rounded out North’s best, while Ciaran Buckley received phrase from his coach for his defensive work.
As did Dale Bachmann, who played an important role on Garret Ha, keeping him to a single goal for the day.
East’s loss was not due to lack of effort from its leaders, as Eldridge put in another huge performance.
In his 200th Senior game for the Bulldogs, his never-say-die attitude was reflected into his game and he provided plenty of resistance to North’s relentless attack.
Youngster Shaun Lock also had plenty of spark and was able to make several breaks into attack, particularly late in the game.
He finished with two goals in a team-high performance, while at the other end of the ground Nick Lock did well despite the challenge of facing North’s strong attack line.
North now looks to a big game against West Gambier, as the teams sit third and fourth on the ladder respectively.
However, Hardy is confident in his team and believes it is finding its feet at the right time of year.
“Being a new coach and with new structures, we are going to have ebbs and flows,” Hardy said.
“I felt like Saturday was the first time we really gelled in everything we wanted to do.
“It was a real complete game for us in terms of how we want to set up behind the ball and how we want to move forward with the ball.”
For East it will be another big challenge when it faces top-placed South Gambier.
