On Saturday 17th August the Northern Knights travelled up to Ballarat to take on the North Ballarat Rebels in Round 16 of the TAC Cup. In cold and windy conditions the Knights had the better of the Rebels early with Marcus Bontempelli & Ben Lennon looking dangerous in the forward line. Although the Knights didn’t capitalise on the amount of forward 50 entries they had we were still able to take an 18 point lead into quarter time. North Ballarat’s pressure increased in the second quarter and the Knights continued to struggle once the ball was inside their forward line. 23rd Player Damandeep Aujla did provide one spark for the Knights when he roved a pack and ran into an open goal. The Knights certainly were using the ball better by foot than Northern Ballarat but the Rebels relentless pressure allowed them to stay within 23 points at half time. The arm wrestle continued in the third quarter before the Knights looked to break away with three quick goals to Jake Potter, Liam Hunt & Bontempelli, however the Rebels fought back with two goals of their own late in the quarter and the margin at three-quarter time was an even five goals. The floodgates then opened in the final stanza as the Knights went on a rampage kicking nine goals to one to run away with an 80 point victory. Bontempelli was outstanding for Northern up forward booting 5 goals amongst 22 disposals, while Ben Lennon showed his class with 28 disposals and two goals. Bottom agers Josh Iacobaccio & Sam Switkowski provided great run from defence and showed hardness around the stoppages. Jake Potter continued his consistent season at full back and was even able to sneak forward for a goal. This weekend is the last round of the Home & Away season in the TAC Cup and sees the Knights travel again, this time to Wangaratta to meet the Murray Bushrangers. Both sides will have a lot to play for so it promises to be an exciting game and a win could see the Knights finish as high as third on the TAC Cup Ladder.
Last Modified on 21/08/2013 14:59
