The Northern Knights have been brought back to Earth after suffering a heavy defeat at the hands of the Murray Bushrangers by 45 points. Having won in convincing fashion against the Western Jets last week, the Knights have once again been unable to back up one of their better games the next week. The Bushrangers, on the other hand, continue to move up the ladder with that being their fifth win in a row.
The first quarter was a rather low scoring affair with the Bushrangers missing the target five times before breaking through for their first goal. Conversely, the Knights scored their only goal of the quarter very early on. Forward line pressure was very low from the Knights, which allowed the Bushrangers to rebound with ease and conversely the Knights really struggled to penetrate the centre square when they were trying to clear from defence.
In a dominant display, the Bushrangers blew the game right open by kicking the first six goals of the second quarter. The Knights only goal for the term came from Tim Bongetti in otherwise one way traffic. The Bushrangers were playing much stronger football, as Knights Coach Paul Satterley acknowledged. "They were a lot more physical. Their bodies looked bigger and I'm not sure if that's fact, or if that's just a perception as a result of the pressure they were applying to us.
That second quarter was one of our most disappointing this season. It was a long way from the form we showed a week ago. A week is a long time in footy."
Satterley issued a challenge to the Knights for the third quarter, which they responded to by keeping the Bushrangers goalless and almost cutting the 46 point half time deficit in half. The pressure was much better and the team was playing as a cohesive unit.
Any chance of a miraculous comeback was snuffed out early in the last quarter when the Bushrangers drew first blood. All of the good work in the third quarter came undone as the full time margin got back out to 45 points.
Satterley noted that there were not many standout performances within the team. "Players named in our best weren't at their best. Not many played to their full potential. Today we had some tryers - Hurley, Bongetti, Kreuzer, Totino, but even if you asked them they'll probably say they didn't play as well as they could've."
He was, however, complimentary towards the opposition. "They played how we wanted to play and did what we wanted to do. They played hard and worked for each other and our boys didn't respond to that pressure."
With that loss, the Knights fall behind the Bushrangers and the Geelong Falcons on the ladder to drop from fourth to sixth in one week. "We've only got ourselves to blame. We're in this position due to inconsistent performances. It's a big job for us now because we're well and truly back in the pack. We really need to win our next couple of games against Sandringham and Dandenong. They're massive games for us."
Murray Bushrangers 14.13.97 def. Northern Knights 7.10.52
Goals: Merkel 2, Grimes 2, Bongetti, N.Kelly, Kreuzer
Best: Bongetti, Hurley, Totino, Kreuzer, Brunelli, Grimes
Last Modified on 30/03/2008 18:16