North Ballarat have forced themselves back into finals contention, outclassing a gritty Frankston 10.11.71 to 6.7.43 in a scrappy affair at Frankston Park as Anna Harrington reports.
The Roosters’ clinical rebounding and composure out of defence was the difference between the sides, Cameron Richardson starring with 41 possessions.
Bill Driscoll kicked three goals for the visitors, while running defender Matt Clark was Frankston’s best, ably assisted by ballwinning forward Emilio Bitters, who snared two goals for the home side.
Roosters coach Gerard FitzGerald said he was very happy with his team’s performance against an in-form Dolphins side, reserving particular praise for his defence.
“We got Frankston who’d been playing good footy in the last few weeks… so we’re very pleased to get the result,” FitzGerald said.
“It was a very good defensive effort, it was a good team defensive effort as we say.
“We thought that our tackling was very, very good and our ability to restrict Frankston to their score [was pleasing.]”
North Ballarat dominated the midfield but struggled to capitalise on their advantage, registering four behinds before they came close to goaling against a resilient Dolphins defence.
The visitors finally snared a major when Driscoll received a handball from Aaron Black and brilliantly goaled around the body.
With the Roosters continuing to waste their opportunities, Frankston forced themselves back into the contest when Anthony Simpson roved a marking contest deep in the forward line and snapped his team’s first.
But it was all North Ballarat from there, the visitors securing further goals from Driscoll and Black to kick out to a 4.8.32 to 1.0.6 lead at the first break.
At the huddle, Frankston coach Simon Goosey urged his side to take their opportunities and they started the second quarter in style, lively defender Clark steering the ball through from 40 metres out to cut the deficit to 20.
The Dolphins were playing far more directly and when Daniel Uzarevic nailed a running goal, they seemed set for a tight match.
But poor skills kicking into the forwardline let them down and when Jason Linke slotted his first after a careless 50-metre penalty, the Roosters kicked back out to a 20-point lead.
Driscoll snared a brilliant contested mark close to goal and easily converted for his third, while the Dolphins could only manage two late behinds, entering the main break down a disappointing 3.3.21 to 6.9.45.
North Ballarat came out firing in the third quarter, kicking the first three goals of the quarter, the highlight coming from Brayden Norris, who swung through a long bomb from tight on the boundary line to extend the lead to 43.
Frankston hit back late through Shane Hockey, the onballer’s running goal reigniting a relatively subdued home crowd and dragging his team back into contention, the Dolphins down 4.3.27 to 9.10.64 at three quarter time.
At the final huddle, Goosey implored the importance of kicking early goals, with his team needing to overcome a 38-point deficit after only registering four majors in the first three quarters.
But the final quarter was as low scoring as those before it, with Bitters snaring Frankston’s two goals for the quarter, including a massive effort from outside 50.
The Roosters also struggled to score against a heavy wind, their only goal coming through Myles Sewell who marked in the pocket and converted after the siren, ensuring his side ran out 28-point winners.
Goosey said the final score was disappointing given the general competitiveness of his team across the match and cited poor ball use as an area in need of improvement.
“It was disappointing because we really thought we were a chance coming into this match,” Goosey said.
“We didn’t handle our conditions that well… we probably played well into the breeze twice and we didn’t handle them going with it.
“They probably handled the conditions a lot better than we did and had a lot cleaner possession.”
This Saturday the Roosters head to Keilor for what’s sure to be a tough encounter with Williamstown, while Frankston will head to Box Hill on Sunday as they hunt their second win.
Last Modified on 08/06/2011 08:08