James Murphy
SOUTH GAMBIER 20.11 (131) d CASTERTON SANDFORD 9.2 (56)
THE Demons made up for their Round 10 loss to Casterton Sandford with a resounding victory over the Cats on their home deck.
South Gambier made the trip across the border to visit the Victorians at their fortress at Island Park and while the hosts kept in touch for the first half, they lacked the legs to chase the rampant Demons to the line.
The first quarter had both teams share the success, with South up three goals to two at the change.
The Cats reversed those figures in the second term with three majors of their own, while a handful of behinds kept the Demons up by four points at the main break.
The game remained up for grabs heading into the “premiership” quarter.
That soon changed when the Demons upped the ante in a match-winning quarter of football.
They piled on eight unanswered goals in a dominant display, restricting the Cats to a single minor score.
Suddenly the margin had grown to an insurmountable 53 points heading into the fourth term.
The Cats managed to recover some pride in the last with four goals, but it was far from enough to undo the damage.
To make matters worse for the home side, South added another seven-goals-four to keep the scorekeepers busy until the final siren.
The result was a final score of 131 and a 75-point triumph for the Demons.
Taylor Saffin was best on ground for the victors and his defensive efforts played a key part in restricting Casterton Sandford in the second half.
Youngster Cayde Watson was also impressive, while Elliott Fisher had a day out in front of goals.
He bagged six for the afternoon, with Mitchell Sims next best with three majors.
Liam Delaney, Bronson Saffin and Watson all had two goals each, along with a list of single of single goal kickers.
One constant at Casterton Sandford of late has been Diarmid Cleary.
He was the Cats’ best again on Saturday – his third best-on-ground performance in a row.
Daniel Richardson was also solid, while another consistent performer in Callum Currie featured among the best as well with a three-goal game.
Dylan Ayton, Corey Wombwell and Caleb Gibbs rounded out the best on the day.
With one round left of the home-and-away season, South should be locked into second place.
A loss to West Gambier next weekend would give North Gambier the chance to draw level on wins, but the Demons still hold a percentage advantage which should keep the second chance safely in their grasp.
