James Murphy
EAST GAMBIER v CASTERTON SANDFORD
THE age-old battle between Dogs and Cats takes place at the Kennel this Saturday.
East Gambier hosts Casterton Sandford in Round 2 of Limestone Coast football and both teams will be hungry for a win.
They were on the receiving ends of Round 1 thrashings and while there were positives to come from both teams, improvement will be desirable moving forward.
East managed to win the fourth quarter against South Gambier last week, but still fell by 83 points, while the Cats suffered a 73-point loss at home to Millicent.
Returning player Callum Currie was the top performer for Casterton Sandford, while Hamish McCrae proved he is still dangerous in front of the big sticks with two goals.
Newly instated playing coach Jarrod O’Brien was another standout and he will look to lead his troops by example again this week.
There is certainly talent in the Cats’ list and despite the eventual margin, they had patches where they really pushed the Saints in Round 1.
They will look for a similar intensity against East and could be in a good place to notch up their first win of the year.
The Bulldogs are again a young side in 2024 and that inexperience could hinder them somewhat this campaign.
However, the likes of Carl Slape, Kev Thomson, Nick Walters and John Forster – to name a few – all have plenty of experience at hand.
They will hope to guide the youngsters coming through the ranks, with Slape showing his worth up forward last round with four majors.
Reece Lillecrapp appears to be a threat through the midfield again and he will be one to watch, while there a list of young talents who will have benefited from having another senior pre-season under their belts.
The Cats will probably enter this one as favourites, but it holds the potential to be a good match-up.
