by_Jim_Gordon
SEA LAKE NANDALY TIGERS V WOOMELANG LASCELLES
In a come from behind victory, Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers ended up comfortable five goal winners against near neighbours Woomelang Lascelles at Culgoa on Saturday. With a shrinking injury list and a group of players who are getting fitter and starting to combine as a playing unit, the Tigers’ 2011 season is looking like it is getting well and truly back on track.
A 30 point win was just what this side needed and the Tigers have now won three out of their last four games. This win has boosted them up the ladder to third position, jumping the Cats in the process with a superior percentage.
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Woomelang Lascelles were winning all the contested football early and lead by four goals to one at the first break. The Tigers looked slow and out of sorts as the Cats lead them to the ball and had forwards in Jayden Lonergan and Chris Smith creating opportunities and scoring goals themselves. Had the Cats converted a couple more of their set shots, they would have really had the Tigers on the back foot.
From this point on Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers lifted their intensity. Col Durie started to get a lot of the ball and by the long break, the Tigers only trailed by one goal. The Tigers swung a slightly out of sorts full forward Nathan Wight to centre half back onto the dangerous Jayden Lonergan. This turned into an interesting battle to watch with two very evenly matched players going head to head.
The second half was completely dominated by the Tigers who kicked nine goals to three in a wonderful display of precise team-oriented football which could make the rest of the competition sit up and take notice. In the third quarter Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers added six goals straight.
A key move was versatile big man Jarrod Alderton going forward after quarter time and he ended up with five goals for the day. Jeremy Weinert had an outstanding game on the wing kicking two goals in the process. His was a polished display with evasive skills that were great to watch.
Luke Martin chimed in with another two goals, he caused headaches for the Cat defenders when resting forward. Taylor Hannig had a good game for the Tigers in defence working well with John Guthrie in the back pocket.
For Woomelang Lascelles, their forwards didn’t have a great day, but then again, they suffered from a lack of opportunities coming their way. They received some consistent drive all day from Rohan Coburn with his clever work at stoppages and hard running to set up many of the Cats’ forward thrusts.
The Cats missed Chris Foott who went down early with concussion and at times poor disposal cost them dearly.
On a brighter note, it was Jackson Quirk’s best game for club whether playing on the wing or at half forward. They were also well served by Anthony Foote across half back, although Foote’s influence was curbed significantly when he was required to man up and could not zone off and help his fellow defenders. When allowed to zone off, he becomes the Cats playmaker.
Chris Smith was another who played well for Woomelang Lascelles. He kicked three goals and proved himself very competitive in one on one duals.
Woomelang Lascelles would be disappointed with the result because they showed early in the game that they are capable of some very good football. The Cats are going to need to regroup in a hurry as they face the daunting task of hosting the Demons next Saturday.
As for the Tigers, they will be pleased to finally be making some progress up the ladder and have a week off before taking on the Demons at Blackburn Park in two weeks’ time.
HOPETOUN V BEULAH
Beulah did nothing to dent their position as premiership favourites with a very good 62 point win over Hopetoun at Hopetoun on Saturday.
Once again Beulah’s strength, skillful teamwork and polished finishing was the difference between the two sides.
Accounting easily for the Lakers last week, this week Hopetoun was a very different team. Not only did they lose several players through injury before the game, they were beaten around the packs and could not stop or contain Beulah’s key forwards in David King or Peter Lehmann who kicked eleven goals between them.
One shining light for the Devils is Zac Robins. He is arguably their biggest improver this season and was given the huge task of taking on Gareth Hose, Beulah’s best in their win against United last week. Not only did he keep Hose reasonably quiet, but Robins was Hopetoun’s best player over the whole match.
Kain Robins once again played a pivotal role at centre half forward. He ended up with three goals as did Bryce Wellington, and these two gave the Devils something to look for up forward.
Quentin Willmott is another who did well for Hopetoun; he is in good form and his versatility means that the can play either on the ball or he can hold down a key position down back.
Tom Pridgeon is also in good touch and managed to keep Dale Shannon down to just an average game by his standards.
Next week Hopetoun has a must-win game against the Cats. They are going to need to lift a lot and forget this game and focus on winning next week or they could find themselves two games out of the four. Meanwhile Beulah go from strength to strength.
OUYEN UNITED V WALPEUP UNDERBOOL
A large crowded gathered in misty rain to watch traditional rivals Ouyen United and Walpeup Underbool battle for the honours at Blackburn Park. In what turned out to be a very one sided affair, the Demons trounced the undermanned Roos by over twenty goals.
Although dictating terms pretty much right from the start, United only really got going half way through the second term when they seemed to pick up the tempo and run harder either at the ball or into a space. In the first quarter they were on top kicking eight goals, but the Roos scored four goals themselves. The Demons needed to get in front and run at the ball rather than try to spoil from behind and give away free kicks as they did in the first quarter.
United were well served by their senior players, but they gained from the run and skills of their youngsters. Bradley Summerhayes did a lot of damage in the second term from his wing, Joshua Coates was tight in defence, he ran and created all day and Alexander Morrish bobbed up with two goals running into the forward line.
Ouyen United were relishing the space denied them last week by Beulah. If the Roos managed to get the ball into their forward line, Demon players were there, ready to pounce and gain possession back. They then seemed to have lots of time to initiate long passages of play delivering the ball with precision from the backline through a string of lose men across the centre and onto a shot on goal.
Kieran O’Shannessy was back to his usual role talking, organising and feeding off to a player in space to get the ball rolling. Brenton Jardine was able to use his leg speed to run through the centre and coach Ryan O’Callaghan did a lot of good work with his kicking to position.
Todd Barker was having a good day, marking, tapping the ball and moving it forward, always looking to feed off to his midfielders. Glenn Joyce and Marc Hahnel were the smoothest movers on the field. They were able to read the play, find space and use the ball creatively, often going wide or deep into a pocket where Dom Leach, Sonny Lindsey and Bradley Vallance were lined up waiting for the ball.
Sonny Lindsey was at his arrogant best scoring goals seemingly at will. Not only did he lead and mark, but several times he was able to run his opposition under the ball, turn and either pick up and kick, or run the ball through the goals with a tap off the ground.
The Roos struggled to get their hands on the ball, let alone do anything constructive with it. Jim Wakefield was one who did some good work for the Roos. His strong running and long kicks through half back were inspirational, but with little movement up forward, unfortunately for the Walpeuup Underbool defenders, the ball kept coming back with a relentless monotony.
Samuel McDonald was another who did some good work for Walpeup Underbool, he kicked two clever goals from close in after reading the ball off the pack, one in the first term and one in the second. Matt Brown provided a target when moving up to the centre, Chris Vorwerk, Luke Nathan, Matthew Palmer worked hard all day.
The half time scoreboard showed United 79 points up on the Roos, but the telling statistic was 36 scoring shots to seven. This was a very one-sided affair and turned into a one way procession in the second half.
Last Modified on 22/06/2011 18:43
