The Northern Knights have got themselves back into the Top 4 in emphatic fashion against the highly fancied Western Jets. Buoyed be the return of Matt Kreuzer, Jack Grimes, Michael Hurley, Brett Meredith and Tim Bongetti the Knights asserted themselves early in the game and never turned back.
The message from the Coach Paul Satterley before the game was to be instinctive and bold and that's exactly how the Knights played from the opening bounce - playing on at every opportunity and backing themselves in contested situations. The first quarter saw the Knights jump out to a three goal lead thanks to three goals from Bongetti, but the way they were playing as a team was the real feature. Tackling pressure and support for one another were very strong, particularly in the forward line and they were generating a lot of run, as indicated by a high number of handball receives.
Inaccurate first half kicking from both teams in surprisingly still conditions down at Williamstown meant that the half time margin accurately reflected the complex of the game. The Knights could have blown the game open but kicked 6.9.45 (including 2.5 in the second quarter) while the Jets were on 2.8.20 at the main break and were failing to convert on the limited opportunities provided to them.
Grimes was having a field day for the Knights across the half back line and through the midfield and set up a lot of forward thrusts. Adrian Totino was playing a characteristically tough in and under game, extracting the ball from congested situations and winning plenty of clearances, despite having his head cut open early in the game. Up forward, Bongetti and Hurley were working well in tandem and gave the Knights tall targets to kick at.
The third quarter is where the game really broke open when the Knights piled on eight goals and for the third successive quarter restricted the Jets to only one. It was the big men up forward for the Knights that did the job with Bongetti adding his fourth and Hurley's three goal quarter also taking him to four for the day. Josh Merkel also got in on the act with two long bombs. Ground level work in the forward line was also very good with Pece Micevski, Brodric Gray and Chris Polidoras working hard around the packs. As the quarter went on the Knights were getting more and more tenacious at the contest and just looked like they wanted it more. Constant pressure restricted the Jets supply and their tenacity saw them win most 50/50 contests.
There was some relief for the Jets in the final quarter by kicking four goals to two, but the damage done in the third quarter was far too great. Kreuzer was strong throughout the game playing in the ruck and up forward, while Brad Hanchette continued his impressive run of form but left the game in the last quarter with a knee complaint. Hamish Paynter was very good on the wing and was an excellent example of the team directives, playing a bold and instinctive game on the wing. In a fantastic team effort Ben Power, Matt Quinton and sixteen year old Dean Smith-Whiting were also impressive. Smith-Whiting's performance in the back line was all the more impressive since he kept a player three years his senior very quiet all day.
Satterley couldn't have been more pleased with the way the team responded to last weeks disappointment. "There was a real focus today on taking the game on and to be bold and confident. No doubt the players all responded to that message today. We had 22 contributors out there.
Even though we weren't hurting them on the scoreboard early on we were doing all of the things we set out to do. There was a lot of tackling and our handball receives were the highest they've been all year so there was plenty of run too. This week we were hard at the footy and hard at the opposition. We didn't butcher the ball like last week and were using it very well."
Satterley stressed the importance of team unity leading up to the finals and indicated that match committee are starting to settle on a best 22. "It's important to have similar faces out there. This week we had to make six or seven changes. Obviously we weren't the only ones there (with players returning from the U/18 National Championships) but we need to mould and gel as a team.
Over the past few weeks some players got a chance that they otherwise may not have got, but some of those boys took that opportunity with both hands - that's the flipside (of losing players to the Championships)."
Northern Knights 16.15.11 def. Western Jets 7.14.56
Goals: Bongetti 4, Hurley 4, Merkel 2, Meredith 2, Grimes, Kreuzer, Power, Micevski
Best: Grimes, Totino, Kreuzer, Hanchette, Micevski, Paynter
Last Modified on 30/03/2008 18:17