A last quater comeback by North Ballarat Rebels was not enough to snatch a win over the Sandringham Dragons in their battle in their TAC Cup game at Hamilton on Sunday.
A snap goal to Evan Hurse opened proceedings for North Ballarat as they had control in the early part of the game as both sides tried to adapt to the soft ground in typical winter weather conditions.
Daniel Batson was doing well in the ruck duels but Sandringham were slowly becoming dominant around the packs as thier medium sized players pushed the ball forward for two answering goals.
Liam Picken goaled from a free and then first gamer Micheal Jameson marked strongly and added another level to the scores are quarter time.
North Ballarat were disappointing during the second term but Ryan Herring was steady at half back and Daniel Feery lifted around the ground but they could muster nothing in their forward half as the Dragons kicked three goals to set up a handy lead.
Nathan Anderson, Ryan Harris and Liam Picken came into the game as Coach Anthony Rock made several changes but Sandringham increased their lead until Clinton Young and Anderson tool marks and kicked truly to keep North Ballarat within striking distance.
Daniel Ewing opened the final quarter witha goal, the Dragons replied and then North Ballarat played their best football for the day kicking four mor to get within ten points.
The Rebels persisted and a couple of scoring opportunities went begging as the Dragons hung on to score a deserved win to consolidate their position in the top eight and almost putting paid to any slight chance the Rebels may have held.
This game again showed that the Rebels best is very competitive but consistant four quater efforts, not two or three are required to be successful at this level of competition.
SANDRINGHAM DRAGONS 11.13 (79) d NORTH BALLARAT REBELS 10.9 (69)
Best - Ryan Herring, Daniel Feery, Daniel Batson, Liam Picken, Ryan Harris, Nathan Anderson.
Goals - Clint Young 2, Nathan Anderson 1, Daniel Ewing 1, Lachlan George 1,, Ryan Herring 1, Evan Hurse 1, Michael Jameson 1, Liam Picken 1, Steven Tung 1.
Last Modified on 08/02/2009 14:14