After a very strong Round 1 result for the Knights and a very poor result for the Jets this was shaping up to be a mismatch from the opening bounce. Yet it was from the opening bounce that the Jets served it up to the Knights and they dominated the first five minutes by winning clearances and keeping the ball in the their forward 50.
In a big boost for the Knights, they scored on their first serious push forward through Ben Power and from there the momentum started to build with goals to follow from Nyaburu Kelly, Tim Bongetti, Pat Fitzgerald, Luke Simpson and Matt Kreuzer. After withstanding the pressure of the first five minutes the Knights took control of the game, influenced by the play of Adrian Totino, who set up two of the goals. Michael Brunelli and N.Kelly were also getting plenty of the ball, while Steven Kelly was impressive in defence. James Tantsis-Hall gave the team a spark when he came on but was missing targets.
The Jets used the quarter time break to compose themselves and were able to halt the Knights momentum with an arm wrestle in the first five minutes of the second quarter. Aaron Coen looked like creating something special with a run deep from defence but the Knights failed to convert and the Jets returned fire when John Cartelli scored a goal. Kreuzer was dominating the ruck for the Knights, however the Jets were playing more aggressively at ground level and this hard at the ball approach resulted in another goal. Michael Hurley settled things down for the Knights with a mark and goal from 40m out before half time, in a quarter where the Jets looked a lot better but their inaccurate kicking saw them down by 17 points.
It was Bongetti once again who gave the Knights a lift, this time with an energetic run up forward where he kicked two goals and a behind to start the third. The Jets pegged those two goals back through Steven Kennedy and Nathan Lyons, but a centre square infringement saw their good work come unstuck when Kreuzer's long kick was swooped on by Totino for a goal. The arm wrestle continued as the Jets replied with two of their own after loose defensive play from the Knights. Totino was still very busy and his tireless efforts were keeping the Jets from getting a run on through the centre, while Hurley was playing very well at centre half back. A couple of late goals to Fitzgerald and N.Kelly saw the Knights take 27 point lead into the final change.
The game was far from over and the Jets got the perfect start in the final. Their play was assertive and the generated many scoring shots. Conversion was still an issue but with the sheer amount of ball they were getting in their forward 50 they were starting to take a major bite out of the deficit. Two unanswered goals saw the Knights sweating a bit and the momentum well and truly swung the Jets way with a brilliant centre clearance from Mitchell Banner, who took two bounces and goaled from 50 metres. The Jets scored their fourth and fifth unanswered goals of the quarter from Daniel McKerracher and Rhyse Prismall. All their good work almost came undone after a free kick and a 50 metre penalty was awarded to Pece Micevski. He converted, which put the Knights back in the lead but the Jets still had one more burst in them with the game in the balance. It was Nicholas DiMartino who was the hero for the Jets with a strong mark in the goal square in the 25 minute mark to give the Jets a surprise victory.
It was a rather disappointing result for the Knights, who were coming off a 103 point Round 1 victory, while the Jets had suffered an 84 point thumping in that week. The Knights will be ruing their loose play at the start of the fourth quarter when they were holding a relatively comfortable lead, while both teams will need to address conversion around the goals.
Western Jets 15.17.107 def. Northern Knights 14.16.100
Last Modified on 30/03/2008 18:23