CASTERTON SANDFORD 49 d EAST GAMBIER 35
HAVING broken a three-season winning drought in Round 5, Casterton Sandford proved it was not a one off when securing a 14-goal victory over East Gambier at Island Park on Saturday.
It all came down to the start, with the Cats scoring the first 13 goals of the contest.
It was the defining time of the game in the end with East unable to reel in the deficit, only getting as close as seven goals throughout the remainder of the contest.
The Cats led by eight at quarter time, 11 at the half and went into the final quarter 12 goals clear.
Determined to finish strongly, the Cats also won the last to secure the 49-35 goal victory.
It was all about supply in the first quarter.
The Cats generated 19 scoring shots to 10 as they dominated in defence and linked seamlessly in transition to find Chelsea Hulm and Holly Smith in good position.
Madaline Patton took the wing attack bib for her first start of the season and teamed well with Madalene Cleary to continually link the defensive line with the on-fire shooters.
Smith – who had a perfect eight in the first – continued her stellar shooting in the second and third terms.
She missed only one goal from her 16 attempts and if nothing else, the match showed just how important Bo Creek is to the Bulldogs’ line-up.
Creek’s absence was glaring and forced a reshuffle of what has been a strong defensive line for East.
Morgan Amy moved back into the defensive circle alongside Sharna McKinnon, with Indi Dwyer slotting onto the defensive wing.
It was all about a lack of scoring opportunities for East as the Cats were relentless with their defensive pressure.
Cleary worked in tandem with Ebany Jarrad, Chloe Finnigan and Caeleigh Humphries to deny the East frontline any time and space.
That pressure also caused a slight drop in the usually impressive accuracy from the East goalers.
In a potentially good sign for the Bulldogs, Tarsh McCallum returned to the court at wing defence in the second half but how often she will suit up is still unclear.
Smith’s shooting performance was made possible through the hard running of Cleary, while Humphries continued to star in the defensive circle.
Malinda Foster and Amy were best for East.
