James Murphy
WEST GAMBIER 10.9 (69) d NORTH GAMBIER 8.6 (54)
WEST Gambier overcame an inaccurate start to claim the Round 7 honours on its home deck against North Gambier on Saturday.
In a battle between second and third a good battle was expected, but in the end the Roos secured the win by 15 points.
Despite winning the first and last quarters, a dry patch in the third term cost the Tigers dearly and let West out to a lead they could not recover from.
Inaccuracies from the Roos resulted in five behinds in the opening term, while North converted a neat 2.2 to hold the advantage at the first break.
However, a big turnaround in the second had West pile on six goals to North’s one and by half time the margin had flipped to put the hosts up by 20 points.
The momentum remained in the Roos’ favour in the “premiership” quarter.
While only adding two-goals-two, they kept the Tigers scoreless for the term, setting up a handy buffer heading into the final stanza.
Faced with a 34-point deficit, North refused to bow down and put in a solid five-goal quarter to keep things interesting.
West added two goals of its own during this time and that was enough to keep the Tigers at bay, with 15 points the difference at the siren.
Brandon Newton put in a standout performance for the Roos with his pace and silky skills earning him the best-on-ground honours.
Michael Minuzzo and Todd McPartlan were also solid, with the former leading an even spread in front of goals.
Minuzzo and Ben Papps were the only players to score multiple goals with two each, while the remaining six majors each came off a different boot.
Tom Holmes and Jordan Williams were also among the best, as they continue solid starts to the season.
It was a slightly different story for the Tigers in front of goal, as Sam Stafford loomed large with four goals in a best-on-ground performance.
Dale Bachmann, Nick Blackut and Tyson Christopherson each scored one, while defenders Jake Schutz and Sam Egan featured highly among the best players.
Josh Jenner and Mitchell Kelton continued their good form, while Nick McInerney made an impact on and around the ball.
