James Murphy
WEST GAMBIER 7.10 (52) d CASTERTON SANDFORD 1.2 (8)
IT may not have been pretty, but West Gambier claimed a convincing win over a visiting Casterton Sandford in Round 11 of Western Border football.
It took the guests until the last quarter to find the big sticks and their final score of eight points was easily accounted for by the Roos.
The hosts overcome a slow start, which saw just one point scored for the opening term, to push themselves out to an eventual 44-point triumph.
The ground remained spongy underfoot but West playing coach Daron McElroy credited ball skills to his team’s slow start.
“It was scrappy and the ball skills were way off,” he said.
“We talked about it after the game, it was just one of those days where things don’t go the way you want them to go.”
He said the polish was missing all day and forward entries were difficult to come by when considering the lack of traffic in the opposite direction.
“One point in the first quarter is not ideal football, but at the end of the day we still got the job done,” McElroy said.
“Not playing our type of footy and not playing good footy and still winning is a positive I suppose.”
Despite the lack of polish on the day, there were still positives to come from the match.
The win keeps West nipping at Millicent’s heels for top spot, with the two still separated by percentage alone.
To keep the Cats to such a low score was a credit to West’s defensive efforts, with the back six a highlight on the day.
“Keeping them to one goal is great in any conditions,” McElroy said.
“Our back six I can’t fault.
“Lewis Lean got our best on and I thought he was sensational back there.”
Brandon Newton and Jesse Pfitzner were also influential down back, with their rebounding ability and pace up the ground sending the ball back into attack.
“I thought Kyle Giddings was really strong around the ball as well,” McElroy said.
“Just his brute force to push his way through underneath the packs is pleasing to watch when you are rucking to him.
“Then big Ous (Braiden Ousey) he found a bit of the footy around the ground and he got on the end of one which was pleasing to see.”
Reece Cowling also earned a place in the best players, while it was no surprise to see a Casterton Sandford backman at the top of the Cats’ list.
Matt Killey played an impressive game despite the end result and the damage would have been far greater if not for his intercepting abilities and pressure inside the defensive arc.
Gabe Parsons and Michael Krieger also held their own, but little could be done to turn the tide.
Goals were shared around for the Roos and McElroy and Michael Minuzzo top scored with two each.
The latter showed off his marking ability in the final term, although West had to settle for a return of 1.4 for the quarter as the game fizzled out.
Casterton Sandford’s Casey Jones managed to break the goal drought for his team during this time with a goal midway through the fourth.
However, that would be the only triumph for the Cats on the day and they now return to the drawing board for a Round 12 meeting with East Gambier.
West will look forward to some players returning from injury over the coming weeks as the Roos continue to build towards the post season.
“We have plenty of boys in the cattle yard to come in,” McElroy said.
“We will get a couple of blokes back from injury soon and start really pushing towards finals.”
