It may have been the fact the Saints didn't have to spend 6 hours in a car on Saturday, but the Round 10 win over the Bulldogs was easily the Saints best win for the year. Despite the fact the Dogs came understrength, the Saints till had to get the job done and that they did, running out 158 points winners in front of a strong home crowd.
The Saints started the game very strongly, booting the first 3 goals in quick time before the Dogs had a chance to settle into their stride. A well constructed goal by the visitors a ray of hope, however 3 more unanswered goals to finish the quarter saw the Saints take a handy 33 point lead into the first change.
The second quarter saw the game open right up for both teams, with a great example of running footy going both ways. The Saints started to dominate out of the middle, with Jason Gobbert managing to get first hand on the ball and saw some superb delivery from KJ Te Velde and Corey Wheeler to the forward line. The Dogs managed to get back into the game with a couple of quick goals, but again the Saints settled through Chris Whitton and Mick Viney to see the margin out to 77 points at the long change.
The Saints half time huddle was full of energy and the main focus for the team was to run out all 4 quarters of this game. The Saints again started the quarter well, but for the first time all day, were wasteful in front of goals early in quarter. This could easily be attributed to the extra pressure in the backline from the Dogs, who kicked an excellent running goal that started deep in their own defensive 50. But the Saints regrouped, and led by Mick Corcoran out of the middle, managed another 8 majors for the quarter and extended the lead to 125 points at the last change.
The final quarter saw more of the same for the Saints as they controlled much of the early going to take the lead past 150 points. The Bulldogs were able to show a little of that fight late in the game, but it was too late for a comeback, leaving the final margin at 158 points. The most pleasing aspect of such a win for the Saints was the way in which the team played out all 4 quarters, probably for the first time all year.
Viney finished with 9 goals to be amongst the best, with Cororan booting 6 and Whitton and Gobbert each slotting 4. Te Velde was named best on ground for his defensive role through the midfield, getting plenty of the ball himself. Other notable games for the Saints included veteran Matt Harrison and Ben Mutimer, both of whom showed versatility in playing in different positions around the ground.
The Saints now look to next week's clash in Muswellbrook against the Cats.
Last Modified on 21/06/2010 09:24