On Sunday 12th July the Northern Knights hosted the Eastern Ranges in Round 13 of the TAC Cup. Cold, wet and rainy conditions greeted the two teams as they arrived at Preston City Oval for the 11:00am start. Eastern were the first to adjust to the slippery conditions and quickly put two goals on the board. The Knights responded with goals from Jade Gresham and Mitch Hill but couldn’t capitalize further on their overall dominance and only took a four point lead into quarter time. Eastern came out of the break full of running and began to look dangerous moving the ball forward. The Ranges pulled away with three goals for the quarter, a late major from Mitch Hill kept the Knights within reach trailing by two goals at the main change. The consistent rain continued into the second half making conditions very difficult for both sides and the game became a real scrappy affair. Both teams had their chances in the third term but could only manage a goal each and the margin remained at twelve points heading into the final stanza. As conditions got worse the two teams became even more desperate at the contested ball. Both teams’ defences stood up under immense pressure throughout an intense final quarter. Neither side was able to score a goal in the term so it was Eastern who held onto their half time lead to win by twelve points.
Brayden Fiorini & Tyrone Leonardis were damaging for the Knights on their return from Vic Metro commitments while Matt Perry and Jade Gresham continued their outstanding seasons. Lachlan Murphy was very good rebounding out of defence while Michael Ercolano was a tireless worker through the midfield all day.
This weekend is a TAC Cup Development Weekend so the Northern Knights next match is on Sunday 26th July against Dandenong again at Preston City Oval starting at 1:00pm.
Last Modified on 14/07/2015 19:18