Out west in the Eagles nest the Bulldogs continued their good form reversing the result between these two in round 2. The Eagles started the game well and looked to be back to their best as they piled on 5 goals to the Bulldogs 1 goal. With a 23 point lead at quarter time Eagles Coach, Phil Dennis, would have been much happier with his team when he addressed them at the break after last week's disaster. Bulldogs Coach, Peter Chapman, however would not have been happy and his speech at this break did the trick as his Dogs came out barking in the second quarter. They were in everything and had they kicked straight, 3 goals 9 behinds, they would have smashed the Eagles by half time. As it was they went in just 10 points down. Although the third quarter was more even the Bulldogs again outscored the Eagles and went into the last break only 3 points in arrears. Dennis would have disappointed with the Eagles last quarter as the Bulldogs continued their onslaught pouring on 6 goals to 1 goal and running away with a 26 point win. While Chapman would have been happy with the performance he knows it could have been so much better had they kicked straight. 21 behinds could cost them against a higher placed team. The Bulldogs best player and leading goal kicker with 3 goals was Andrew George. For the Eagles their best player was Jesse Dixon and their leading goal scorer was Tim Cooper with 4 goals.
In Tamworth at No.1 Oval the Muswellbrook Cats took on the might of the Tamworth Kangaroos. The Kangaroos wanted their number 1 spot on the ladder back and did it in emphatic style be not giving the Cats a sniff. The first quarter was all the Kangaroos kicking 7 goals to 2 goals to take a 32 point lead into the first break. The second quarter was the Kangaroos best score wise kicking 8 goals to the Cats 1 goal to take a 76 point lead into the main break. The Kangaroos lost their radar in the third quarter kicking 6 goals 7 behinds to the Cats 2 goals. So their lead at the last break could have been bigger than the 106 points that it was. They straightened up slightly in the last quarter kicking 7 goals 6 behinds to the Cats 1 behind to win by 153 points. Cats Coach, Bryce O'Conner, would be disappointed with the loss but he needs take heart that the Cats are taking the right course with their kids and the fact that they lost 3 players in clearances before the 30th June deadline does not help their cause. The Kangaroos have fought back well after their loss to the Nomads and to average 7 goals a quarter in a game is outstanding. The Kangaroos best player and leading goal scorer with 11 goals was Cameron Douglas. The leading goal kicker for the Cats was Ken Garland and their best player was Tyson Morgan.
At Varley Oval in Inverell the Saints took on a under strength Tamworth Swans team. As has been the Swans problem all year they could only muster 18 players to make the trip to the sapphire city. The Saints shot out of the blocks kicking the first 2 goals before the Swans knew what hit them. But they settled and kicked the next 2 goals. Both teams traded 2 goals each more and finished off the quarter with another goal each and the Saints had only a 1 point lead at the first break. The Second quarter saw the Saints kick out to a 28 point lead with a 5 goal to 1 goal quarter. The score didn't really reflect the game though as the Swans were making the Saints earn what they got. In the third quarter the Swans showed that they could still play the game they were just lacking player numbers. They Kicked 5 goals straight to 3 goals 3 behinds. It took the Saints 15 minutes in this quarter before they scored their first goal. Whatever Saints Coach Nick Baird said to his side at the last break it worked because for the first 15 minutes of the last quarter they turned back the clock to 2007 being devastatingly good. They didn't let the Swans get a sniff and piled on 5 goals in about 10 minutes. The Swans did fight back kicking a goal before the Saints kicked their last goal for the quarter. The Swans did kick the last 2 goals of the game but they had to earn them. In the end the Saints won by 34 points but as I said they showed in the last quarter that when they get it right they are nearly unstoppable. The Saints leading goal kicker was again Captain Chris Whitton and their best player was Michael Gould. The Swans best player was their captain Damien Wendt and their leading goal kicker was the returning Josh McKenzie with 4 goals.
Last Modified on 10/07/2011 11:45