WEST GAMBIER 73 d SOUTH GAMBIER 31
IT was a story of supply and accuracy when West Gambier took on South Gambier at Blue Lake Sports Park on the weekend.
The Demons matched the Roos early in the opening quarter, with Ellie Bouchier and Mykaela Thiele pressuring the West frontline into some uncharacteristic errors.
However, the equal share of possession did not translate onto the scoreboard.
In contrast, Sarah Ritter was perfect with her conversion, netting 12 goals straight and ensuring West enjoyed a nine-goal lead, despite the run of play being much closer than the scoreboard reflected.
The second quarter followed a similar script with Ritter and Lisa McGregor – who did not register a miss – converting 18 from 20, while Megan Reid settled in the South shooting circle and netted seven without a miss.
South made some changes at the main break with Gracie Dalton entering the clash at goal shooter and Ellie Bouchier, who was under an illness cloud, moved back to goal keeper with Thiele moving out front in the defensive combination.
Teresa Humphris was moved to centre and Tully McShane went to the attacking wing as coach Brandi Bouchier looked to find a frontline which could find a way through the Roos’ defence.
The issue for South, was the relentless defensive pressure from West, with Amy Cram and Chelsea Tremelling dominating across the defensive transverse line, forcing the Demons’ frontline into errors, while Mikaela Horrigan was able to mop up anything which came in long and in the air.
Cram racked up the interceptions across the contest and Tara Bryant then dominated as a link player to find McGregor and Ritter in space.
Bouchier had a great battle with Ritter before moving to the bench in the final quarter.
However, even when Ritter had slightly less supply, McGregor just stepped up, netting nine from 11 in the third quarter as the Roos continued to build their lead.
West dominated the final stanza as Cram continued to create turnovers and access to Ritter opened up as she had her most productive quarter of the game with 15 goals.
It was another complete performance from the Roos, dominating in attack and defence, while Reid’s work at goal attack and Thiele’s efforts to try and quell Ritter had them named best for the home side.
