SHARPER skills and cleaner disposals were the key factors in North Ballarat Roosters’ 87-point win against Frankston.
The Selkirk Roosters did what they needed in order to get the job done at Eureka Stadium on Saturday.
This was match one in a final three-game phase for the Roosters before Victorian Football League finals.
The Roosters entered the match intending to set themselves up strongly for a tough run home.
They have checked off Frankston but must still travel to Bendigo then host an in-form Werribee in a bid to seal a top-three spot.
North Ballarat coach Gerard FitzGerald was pleased his players stuck to structures and focused on the job at hand against the Dolphins.
“It was always going to be one of those games where we had to just go out and win it,” FitzGerald said.
“At this level we’re at, we should be expected to beat the bottom team.
“We have not really gained anything major from winning except the four points that keeps us in the top four.”
A Frankston goal from Jake Greeley after the final siren offered little relief for the visiting Dolphins.
Greeley’s major took their total haul to five goals, including three in the last quarter.
The Roosters tallied 17 goals from 36 scoring shots and strangled the Dolphins in the third quarter by kicking 6.2 to a solitary behind.
Play had been workmanlike in the first half with the Roosters controlling play to build a 38-point lead by half-time.
The Roosters won plenty of the ball, chalking up 416 disposals to the Dolphins’ 323.
North Melbourne-listed duo Liam Anthony and Daniel Pratt were in stellar form.
Anthony, in his third season appearance for the Roosters, tore apart the midfield with 34 disposals and three marks.
Pratt, notching up 30 touches and 10 marks, proved devastating on the wing and behind the ball.
Both booted two goals apiece.
For the full story from The Couriers Melanie Whelan, click HERE
Last Modified on 16/08/2011 07:57