The Northern Knights continued their good recent form with a 25 point win over the top of the table, Calder Cannons. The Cannons have historically been a bogey team for the Knights with this being only the fourth time in history that the Knights have beaten them.
With both line-ups depleted due to Vic Metro training camp (Knights missing six players and the Cannons nine) it was a good opportunity for players to step up and make their mark.
The tackling pressure in the early stages of the game was intense. Both teams were applying the body hard and not giving much space at all, however the Knights were beginning to deal with this pressure very well by the middle of the first term. They were running hard for each other and recorded a remarkable 35 handball receives for the quarter.
Tim Bongetti was filling in as captain for Jack Grimes and he asserted himself on the game early with two first quarter goals. Patrick Fitzgerald and Pece Micevski were the other goal scorers, while Liam O'Donnell got off to a great start at centre half forward and was giving the Knights a tall target up forward to create a contest.
The second quarter was played much more in the Cannons favour, as they were dominating the centre clearances. The Knights were having trouble getting the ball inside 50 and when they did they were wasteful in front of goal kicking 2.4 for the term, while the Cannons kicked 5.4 to take a one goal lead into the main break.
Knights coach, Paul Satterley remained optimistic. "At half time we'd missed a lot of opportunities but because of that we were still confident. We just needed to convert better and to still be in a tight game was where we wanted to be."
The Knights really took charge in the third quarter by kicking six goals to one. Bongetti led the way with three of those to take his tally for the day to six - a sure sign that he is back in peak form after returning from a knee injury only last week. Fitzgerald added two more of his own to move to four for the day, while Adrian Totino added one.
The fourth quarter was a bit of a non-event, with each team trading only one goal but that suited the Knights just fine. Under 16 player Tindarra Hood showed some tremendous class and flair with a beautiful goal after bursting through traffic.
Totino was one of the Knights most prolific ball winners, particularly out of the centre. His form in recent weeks has been remarkable and he continues to impress. Up forward, Bongetti with six and Fitzgerald with four were influential but it was the lead up work from O'Donnell that launched a lot of the Knights' attack. He constantly got to contests and pulled down many contested marks while creating space for the two big men deep in the forward line.
Brad Hanchette put in a best on ground performance for the Knights after keeping highly rated midfielder Nick Cattapan quiet in the first half, while finding plenty of the ball himself. Matthew Quinton took last weeks best on ground performance into this game and could boast an amazing 14 spoils playing out of full back for the game. Significantly, Ben Power took the reins in ruck with Matt Kreuzer out of the side and showed plenty for the Knights to get excited about with some good ruck work and much improved general play.
Coach Paul Satterley couldn't praise his troops highly enough for the win. "To get only our fourth win against them in history was really important to us. It gives us that mental edge to know that we can match them and beat them."
It was that third quarter where we really capitalised on our opportunities and started stepping up, in what was a good four quarter performance in the end."
O'Donnell was great today. He continually presented and gave us something to kick to around that half forward line. Patty (Fitzgerald) played his role too after spending a bit of time on the sidelines."
"The best bit about it from our perspective was that it was a shared workload today. Everybody did their bit and that team effort got us the win. Hanchette did a job on Cattapan and Quinno (Quinton) was a rock down back."
Northern Knights 13.12.90 def. Calder Cannons 9.11.65
Goals: Bongetti 6, Fitzgerald 4, Totino, Hood, Micevski 1
Best: Hanchette, O'Donnell, Totino, Bongetti, Quinton, Power
Last Modified on 30/03/2008 18:18