THE Northern Blues were too strong for Sandringham to win by 12 points in wet conditions at Visy Park.
In a game which Chris Judd played his first ever VFL game, the Blues’ midfielders overpowered Sandringham who slumped to their third straight defeat, as Nick Ciantar reports.
Judd played his first competitive game since April to record 17 disposals and 10 hard ball gets. Hundreds of fans came out to see the club champion who played the majority of the match.
The Blues were much harder at the ball all afternoon and disallowed Sandringham easy access into their forward line. Jaryd Cachia (33 disposals, six tackles, one goal) had the job early on Zebras bull-midfielder Adam Cockie (14 disposals), before he was released in the second term.
Cachia worked well all over the ground and his clearance work helped set up the win. He was well supported in the midfield by Sam Cattapan (30 disposals), Nick Graham (31 disposals, two goals) and Kane Lucas (22 disposals, three tackles).
Blues defender John Anthony (five disposals) kept Beau Maister to nine disposals and one behind, while Matt Watson (20 disposals, seven marks) filled the hole in defence. Blues half back flanker Dylan Buckley (20 disposals) was matched up on Kenny Ong (13 disposals and one goal) and the experienced Buckley edged him out.
Sandringham could not hit a forward target and despite Rhys Stanley (12 disposals, one goal) trying his best in the forward line and ruck, the Zebras could not pressurize the Blues defenders.
Jimmy Webster was electric off half-back with 19 disposals and one goal, David Armitage (19 disposals) returned from a gruesome knee injury to win the hard ball, while Daniel Markworth was smooth in the midfield also with 19 disposals.
James Munro finished with the most disposals for Sandringham with 22 and played well in defence. The Zebras will be concerned with Arryn Siposs (10 disposals, three behinds), who didn’t play after half time for an unknown reason.
The match went goal for goal for most of the afternoon until the Blues kicked three goals before three quarter time to lead by 18 points. The Blues’ rucks of Cameron Wood (six disposals) and Sean Bolger (six disposals) gave their midfielders first access of the ball and the Blues won the inside 50 count 46 to 41.
Sandringham needed to come out quickly in the last term however the Blues got the first goal and extended the margin to 24 points. Zebras coach Simon McPhee made a pivotal move in the last quarter to switch defender James Gwilt (18 disposals, one goal) with Stanley.
Gwilt provided Sandringham with another target up forward and the Zebras kicked two quick goals. But it was all too late as the Blues held on to record their fourth win of the season.
The Northern Blues are now percentage out of the eight while Sandringham are two points clear of eighth spot.
The Blues will travel to the ME Bank Centre on Saturday to tackle Richmond at 11am, while the Zebras will host Collingwood from 2pm also on Saturday.
Last Modified on 08/06/2014 00:34