James Murphy
MILLICENT 15.10 (100) d NORTH GAMBIER 6.14 (50)
THE Round 3 twilight match at Vansittart Park did not go the way the hosts had hoped as a visiting Millicent outfit proved too strong in cold and damp conditions.
The Saints outscored the home team in every quarter on their way to a 50-point win.
An inaccurate first term put the Tigers on the back foot with just four behinds while Millicent scored three goals on top of that to enter the change with a handy 18-point lead.
The margin grew in the second by another two goals and the difference was 28 at the long break.
Drizzly rain set in for the second half, but Millicent coach Clint Gallio felt his team lifted despite the conditions.
“We played patchy footy in the first half a little bit,” he said.
“It was good enough footy, but just patchy and we gave them a few opportunities to score on the turnover.
“The second half we probably played better footy in the worse conditions.”
North continued to be let down by goal efficiency in the slippery conditions and headed into the final stanza with a total of 5.12.
The Saints kept their opponent at arm’s length and with four third-quarter goals and another two in the last they pushed the result out to the final 100-50 point score.
Millicent captain Jacob Carger could not have been any more consistent and he kicked a bag of six goals for the third consecutive week.
The leadership proved to be the driving force of the young team, with coach Clint Gallio named as best on ground.
His ferocity in and under the contest had the ball moving forward with precision, where either Carger or Sam Willis eventually found themselves in possession.
Gallio remained modest despite the achievement and gave credit to the team he is playing with.
“I felt alright and the body is feeling good,” he said.
“I played mainly midfield and in the second half swapped back a little bit.
“We have a lot of blokes playing good footy and it is just nice to be a part of a good energy and good feeling team.”
Willis popped up with four majors in a season-best performance, while Noah Lang also slotted multiples with two goals for the Saints.
Hamish Nitschke was another standout, while Caleb Williams and Finn Grimes also earned a mention.
Another to catch the eye of their coach was Harry Willis, who capped off a solid start to the year on Saturday night.
“I thought (his) game was really good,” Gallio said.
“He is fairly young and has been a fringe player the last couple of years.
“His first three weeks have been really good and (Saturday) night he found himself in some really good spots and used the footy really well.”
The Tigers looked to Bradley Adams on the night and he put in a season-best performance to be named best on ground.
Youngster Jonty Collins joined Sam Stafford on the goal list this week and the pair had two each, while Adams and Dale Bachmann both scored one.
Bachmann and Stafford also made the best players, while backmen Jake Schutz and Sam Egan did well against the tide.
Nick McInerney put in a solid midfield performance as well, but it was not meant to be for the home team.
The Tigers will look to bounce back in a big way when they visit East Gambier next round, while Millicent makes the cross-border journey to face a confidence-fuelled Casterton Sandford.
