Trevor Jackson
HATHERLEIGH 21.19 (145) d NANGWARRY 11.3 (69)
DESPITE a strong start from the home club, Hatherleigh made easy work of its clash with Nangwarry in Round 5 of Mid South East football on Saturday.
The Saints began well on their home deck, with three first-quarter goals to remain in the running early.
However, the Eagles banged on five majors, along with five minors to ensure a handy 16-point lead at the first break.
From there Hatherleigh began to find some run and made good use of possession in the forward 50.
Nangwarry managed three straight goals in the second term, but the Eagles put on a further six majors to stretch the margin to 38 points at the main break.
The Eagles then ran the game out, holding the Saints to a solitary major score in the third term, plus four in the final stanza as they put on 10 goals of their own in the last half.
Louis Brown topped the scoresheets for the victors with four goals, while Tom Hutchesson and Jed Telfer contributed three each among the 10 individual goal kickers.
For Nangwarry it was the forward presence of Andrew Hyland who kept to scoreboard ticking over, with his bag of six goals, which keeps him high up in the running for leading goal kicker at this early stage.
Hatherleigh coach Gerard McGrath said he was pleased with the final result but suggested the scoreboard did not reflect the quality of the contest on the ground.
“Nangwarry was pretty impressive, they played some good footy,” he said.
“I don’t think the game was how the scoreboard showed.
“They made the most of their opportunities up forward.”
McGrath said his plan going in was simply to focus on their own style of football, but he felt his players went away from that at times, which kept the Saints in the hunt.
However, the scoreboard pressure built throughout the game and the Eagles were simply too strong.
McGrath said much of that success came from and even spread of scorers, including the returning Hutchesson.
“It was his first game back from injury and only his second game of the year,” McGrath said.
“He played three quarters up forward and you can see his class and strength.
“Hopefully he can start stringing a few games together which will be good for us.”
Telfer was another player the coach mentioned.
“He finds a lot of the footy and space and always seems like he has time,” McGrath said.
“He went forward and kicked a couple of goals which was something different for him.”
Hatherleigh currently sits in fifth place on the ladder with three wins and two losses.
As the halfway mark of the season fast approaches, McGrath has plans for where he would like the Eagles to sit.
“It has been frustrating so far this season,” he said.
“Every week we have had players out, so we haven’t had our best team on the park.
“Hopefully in the next couple of weeks we can get that sorted.
“I would like to turn the corner in fourth, but we have a couple of big games coming up.
“We have Tant this week, then Kalangadoo and Port Mac to finish the round.
“That will be a test to see where we really sit.”
