James Murphy
ROBE 17.19 (121) d TANTANOOLA 5.1 (31)
ROBE put Tantanoola through its paces on Saturday in Round 1 of Mid South Eastern football.
The Roosters overcome a sluggish start to eventually claim a 90-point lead at the final siren.
Under the guidance of new playing coach Nathan Brown, the seasiders moved the ball quickly and effectively into attack.
The Tantanoola hosts managed two opening term goals to lead by two points at the first change, after some wayward kicking from Robe.
However, the Roosters settled in the second and a five-goal-seven return handed them a lead they would not give up, while the Tigers added just the one major score for the quarter.
Down by 29 at the main break, Tantanoola had plenty of work to do heading into the second half.
But Robe kept the pressure on with a five-goal quarter while the Tigers added just two.
The game was all-but won from there yet the Roosters piled on six fourth-term goals for good measure to come home with a solid Round 1 victory.
Brown was pleased with his team’s first official outing of 2023, which pointed to a promising season ahead.
“I was very happy,” he said.
“We got off to a bit of a slow start, but once we found our feet it was really good and we finished the game really strong.
“To come away (from Round 1) knowing we are not even playing our best football yet and still get a 90-point victory, you would take that any day of the week.”
After overcoming some teething issues early on, it was all slick ball movement after the main break.
“Our first half we struggled with our ball movement a little bit and probably just overused the ball a bit,” Brown said.
“Once we toned it back a bit and really focused on how we want to move the ball, it just changed for us.
“We were able to move the ball pretty cleanly and easily from the half back all the way to the forward line.”
Zac Deane led the Rooster’s defence off the half-back line and was an intercept marking machine, with the back six all in fine form.
Up forward there were two main targets.
Hamish Smith had a solid first outing back in red and white and scored a game-high five goals.
“He is the type of bloke who only needs six shots on goal and he will deliver five goals most weeks ,” Brown said.
“Then our centre-half forward Henry Hawker was phenomenal.
“He was a bit unlucky with his goal kicking and probably didn’t execute to his fullest capability, but he finished with three himself.”
Once Hawker dials in his accuracy, he and Smith could become one of the most dangerous attacking combinations in the league.
Captain Jordan Hentschke bagged two goals, while a list of seven single goal scorers showed the Roosters have options in attack.
Joel Bryant also impressed, while it was Brown himself who was given the best-on-ground honours by selectors.
Ruckman Thomas Miller played a vital role and earned his team first use throughout the match, while newcomer Henry Lawrie showed plenty of finesse.
“Henry is just a bull on the inside for us in the midfield and he does a lot of work around the stoppages,” Brown said.
“His pressure and attack on the footy is second-to-none.
“I expect some pretty big things from him this year.”
George Dutton and Jordan Pettit rounded out the best, but Brown could not fault anyone on the day.
“I said to everyone after the game, it would have been a hard job picking the best players because there wasn’t a passenger,” Brown said.
“Everyone did their bit and that is all we can ask each week.”
For Tantanoola, Darcy Pink stepped up for the Tigers and played a solid game despite the result.
He was named best-on-ground, joined by Braydn Reilly, Will Scanlon, Corey Baker and Brandon Pitts in the best players.
Baker led the Tigers on the scoreboard with a pair of goals.
Tantanoola faces another challenge this week when it visits Mount Burr under lights, while Robe will put its new style to the test against reigning premier Kalangadoo.
