James Murphy
KNTFL 12.11 (83) d WBFL 8.9 (57)
THE annual Interleague bragging rights went to the Kowree Naracoorte Tatiara Football League as it defended its 2022 title in Bordertown on Saturday.
Last year the Knights defeated Mid South East on unfamiliar turf at Kongorong, but this time they welcomed the home-ground advantage against the Western Border representative team.
At the final siren the margin was 26 points, built off the foundation of a strong start.
The northerners hit the ground running and a four-goal opening term put the pressure on their WBFL rivals.
“We started really well,” KNTFL coach Nick Davis said.
“We thought both teams had very loaded forward lines and whoever won the middle early might put the other under pressure.
“That happened to be us, which was good.”
At quarter time the margin was 20 points, but it could have been even greater.
“The first quarter we were well on top and probably had opportunity to put even more scoreboard pressure on,” Davis said.
“We kicked four-goals-three, but missed three easy shots, so it could have been a really good quarter.”
The Knights had the better of the second term as well and despite some further inaccuracies, added three goals to WBFL’s two.
A handy 29-point lead put KNTFL in a good place at the main break, but the game was far from won.
A renewed effort from WBFL in the third quarter put the pressure on their opponent.
Some strong run and carry, particularly coming off the half-back line, gave the team a foothold in the match, narrowing the gap to trail by 22 at the final break.
“We managed to sneak a couple of lucky goals in the third to hold our advantage,” Davis said.
“Then we kicked the first goal of the last quarter which kind of put it to bed.
“We adjusted our game style a little bit in the last quarter to try and stop their run and carry.”
KNT tightened up its defence to hold WB to just one goal from five scoring shots, while adding a couple of their own to wrap up the win.
An even spread up front from the Knights kept their rival guessing, with four players kicking multiple goals.
Blake Read and Henry Tregoweth finished up with three majors each, while Seb Schreiber and captain Tom Whittlesea both had two.
Davis also gave credit to another who dominated up forward, but did not reap the rewards on the day.
“Jacob Eats kicked one goal five,” he said.
“He only had one goal, but was probably the dominant forward on the ground – he just couldn’t put it on the scoreboard.”
Regardless, the best-on-ground honours went to a midfielder in Keith’s Daniel Bibby.
“He would have had about 35 touches or so,” Davis said.
“He played in the middle all day with a few rests on the bench.
“He just gets in really good spots and covers the ground really well and uses the ball well.”
The best Under 21 award went to Mundulla’s Jacob Grosser, who excelled in the ruck.
“He was really good in the ruck and around the ground,” Davis said.
“I also thought Blake Read as a lead-up half forward (was good) – he kicked three goals and gave us a target the whole way through the game.”
In the Western Border ranks it was West Gambier’s Brandon Newton who received the best-on-ground honours.
His pace and good hands were invaluable, as was Millicent’s Kade Bradley who was named second best for the match.
Playing coach Clint Gallio played a strong game as well, as did East Gambier young-gun Shaun Lock, while the best Under 21 from WBFL was Millicent’s Kade Varcoe.
South Gambier’s Brayden Kain led the way on the scoreboard with four goals, while Frazer Bradley popped up with two majors.
See Page 28 for junior Interleague reports.
