The Northern Knights have earned a Preliminary Finals berth after an emphatic 53 point win over the top of the ladder Gippsland Power in the First Qualifying Final. It was an inspired performance from the Knights on ball brigade of Trent Cotchin, Adrian Totino and Brett Meredith, as well as a remarkable eight goal performance from Patrick Veszpremi, who alternated between the bench and the forward line.
The Power were right on top early in a game that started out with very poor skill level from both teams. Gippsland were generating a lot of scoring opportunities kicking with the breeze but the swirly wind took some getting used to and as a result they kicked 3.5 for the quarter. The Knights scored a couple of crucial goals late in the first to bring the quarter time margin back to less than a kick.
Totino was on fire right from the opening bounce and had accumulated 12 possessions by the end of the first. The big story from that first term was the intense pressure the Power were putting on the Knights ball carriers. Their tackling and hardness at the contest gave the Knights very little time and created several turnovers.
The second quarter was when Northern started hitting their straps by kicking 4.9. The 12 point lead that the Knights carried into half time could have been a lot greater had their kicking been more accurate. Conversely Gippsland were extremely efficient by kicking 3.0 but only entered their forward 50 seven times.
The game blew wide open in the third quarter with the Knights kicking seven goals to two. The tides had turned as far as pressure was concerned with Northern dominating the tackle count, while support for the ball carrier was also high with a lot of blocks and good communication.
Veszpremi was proving to be the wildcard up forward with a three goal quarter to take his tally to six for the day. Cotchin was just starting to fire up in the midfield by adding 12 possessions in the third and was instrumental in getting the ball into the forward 50. Meredith had ten disposals for the term, while Luke Stanton and Totino were also winning plenty of possession.
With a seven goal lead the Knights maintained their unrelenting display in the final term. Veszpremi added two more goals before going to the bench to finish the game after contributing 15 possessions and 8.4. Cotchin continued to assert his authority with 13 touches in the last quarter, despite spending the last ten minutes on the bench. He finished the day with 37 disposals, ten clearances and 12 inside 50s in an elite performance. Totino and Meredith each finished with 32 touches in a good four quarter performance.
Tindarra Hood, Nathan Thomas and Cristian Sanfilippo were leaders in the pressure department, each laying five tackles. Hood was especially lively at ground level in the forward line. The Knights were also able to control the wings quite well for most of the day with Stanton and David Zaharakis both doing their jobs.
Coach Paul Satterley was very pleased his troops could absorb the early pressure from Gippsland and come out with a convincing win. "Early doors they were ferocious with their attack on the footy and their intensity. We weren't finding much when we were getting clearances. It took Meredith and Cotchin to find something for us in there. Adrian Totino was also fantastic for us early on. It was 26 clearances between those three. Outstanding efforts and that's what you hope to get from your midfielders.
Veszpremi with eight goals was also great for us. He really had an influence as soon as he came off the bench (midway through the first). Our guys were under the pump when they got the footy early on, but they (Gippsland) weren't able to sustain that intensity and that's when we started getting on top.
As a team I think we welcome this week off. If you lose the first final a bit of doubt creeps in. There's a bit of momentum for us now having won our last four coming into this game and we didn't want to lose that. More importantly it's how we went about the win. We tackled, chased hard, harassed and had a red hot crack. As long as the boys work rate stays high then we're happy.
"In our case this week off is a good thing. A few boys are a bit sore so it'll give them an extra week to recover. They need a bit of a breather. Guys like Hurley, Quinton, Spiteri and Kreuzer have played key positions all year so they don't get a lot of rest because they're so important to our structure. This will be good for them."
Northern Knights 18.18.126 def. Gippsland Power 10.13.73
Goals: Veszpremi 8, Totino 3, Meredith 2, Cotchin, Thomas, Bongetti, Hood, Power
Best: Cotchin, Veszpremi, Totino, Meredith, Brunelli, Stanton
Last Modified on 30/03/2008 18:15