James Murphy
SOUTH GAMBIER 11.12 (78) d WEST GAMBIER 10.13 (73)
A CLOSE four-quarter contest at Blue Lake Sports Park produced a five-point win to South Gambier on Saturday.
The Demons hosted West Gambier for Round 8 of Limestone Coast football, in what was tipped as the match of the round.
It did not disappoint and the largest margin at a change was the final five-point difference.
West snagged a couple of majors in the first term while South had the one, with the Roos up by four points at the change.
The Demons reclaimed some momentum in the second quarter and piled on four goals to the Roos’ three, while both sides also added three behinds.
“Our game was a bit clunky to start with,” South coach Peter Duncan said.
“The longer the game went, the more we got our game going.”
The turn around handed South a two-point lead heading into the half-time break.
Another even quarter followed, as the midfields continued to battle hard.
The margin was five points at the final change, setting the stage for another thrilling quarter of football.
It was a high-scoring term, with four goals at both ends.
However, the scoring was shared evenly and at the final siren the margin remained five points in favour of the Demons.
Duncan was pleased to come away with the win in what was a tough four-quarter battle.
“From our point of view we were just happy we could stay patient for long enough and stick to our guns to get the job done.
“Las time we played them we felt like we probably didn’t play well enough for long enough.
“The weekend was a pretty solid four-quarter performance I thought.
“It wasn’t perfect by any stretch, but we stayed patient for long enough and stuck to our guns.”
Cayde Watson was named best on ground for South, as he excelled in a different role for the Demons.
“He had been rolling through the wing, but we threw him forward and he really bobbed up,” Duncan said.
“He kicked three goals and was just really dangerous all day.
“It was probably the best game for his young career.”
Elliott Fisher also kicked multiple goals with two, while Mitchell Sims, Emerson Marks and Mitchell Harrold impressed through the Demons’ midfield.
Rex Jones played a role down back, playing on West playing coach Daron McElroy who returned to the fold on Saturday, while Mason Hein stood tall in South’s ruck once again.
McElroy top scored for the Roos with two majors, while Lawry Bradley-Brown put in another best-on-ground performance.
Braiden Ousey and Nicholas Scanlan also impressed, with Alex Pearson, Jesse Pfitzner and Andrew Stone featured on the list as well.
This weekend South heads up to Millicent for a top-of-the-table clash with the Saints, while West will hope to bounce back against Casterton Sandford.
