The Northern Bullants have kicked off their season in style as they chalked up their second consecutive win, defeating Collingwood by 27 points at Visy Park as Brittany Shanahan reports.
The forecasted showers were absent for the entire match as the Bullants out-ran and out muscled a youthful Collingwood line up.
Kane Lucas was instrumental for the Bullants, providing essential run off half back and he effectively used the footy attaining 34 possessions. His teammate Wayde Twomey showcased some of his best footy, obtaining just 18 possessions but recorded an accurate shot 4.1 for the match.
The second half saw a revitalised Collingwood unit with increased pressure and ferocious tackles been laid. Brad Dick certainly staked his claim for senior selection with Mick Malthouse observing from the sidelines.
Dick booted four goals for the match but it was his ability to win the footy in the one-on-one contested situations down in the forward line that was most impressive.
A small contingent of Collingwood fans had begun a deafening chant to spur on the Pies but the damage was already done.
Newly appointed Bullants coach Darren Harris was pleased with what he has seen his side dish up this season. He believes the hard work early in the match set the side up for the win and prevented a Pies fight-back.
“We had a lot of inside 50s and a lot of the ball. We weren’t as accurate as what we would’ve liked and having three injuries left us short on the bench which meant we just had to hang in there,” Harris said.
“Collingwood’s tackling really lifted. I thought their intensity after half time was fantastic and they put us under a lot of pressure.”
“We thought we got out tackled in the third quarter so we wanted to lift that intensity."
“The key was to kick a couple of goals and we had to keep some scoreboard pressure on.”
“We thought if we could get the ball in our hands with an extra number we might be able to play a slower kicking game to give us some rest time.”
“Adam Marcon’s goal to finish off for us was fantastic and that just kept the gap big enough for us to win,” Harris concluded.
This week the Bullants will travel to play Coburg and Collingwood will host Werribee at Victoria Park at the ABC TV game.
Match Summary
Northern Bullants 6.6 9.10 12.15 14.15 (100)
Collingwood 2.1 4.1 7.6 11.7 (73)
Goals
Northern Bullants Twomey 4, Henderson 2, Saad 2, White, Marcon, Cachia, Austin, O'Keefe, Iacobucci
Collingwood Dick 4, Reilly 2, McCarthy 2, Seedsman, Bull, Ceglar
Best
Northern Bullants Ellard, Joseph, McLean, Twomey, Marcon, Lucas
Collingwood Dick, McCarthy, Goldsack, Farmer, Keeffe, Ugle
Last Modified on 11/04/2011 10:43