Led by Mick Viney with 7 goals and Stuart Walker with 5, the Saints led from the outset to record their 7th win of the season.
Inverell started the game in a blaze of glory, booting 7 goals to 1 to set up a reasonable quarter time buffer. Mick Viney kicking 3 goals with Nick Baird, Pete Dunlop and Joel Fleming starting the game in ominous fashion.
1/4 Time score:
Saints 7-9-51 Bulldogs 1-1-7
To their credit Gunnedah outscored the Saints who appeared to go to sleep in patches in the 2nd term. The Bulldogs seemed to want the ball more midway through the term as they began to dominate the centre. Fortunately for the Saints, Captain Fraser Hughes started to emerge as a match winner along with Tony Halloran and Dave Kent.
Half Time score:
Saints 12-11-83 Bulldogs 7-4-46
The third term belonged to Saints, in particular Stewart Walker who kicked 4 goals for the quarter. Even with his dodgy knee, Walker marked everything and converted the opportunities. His spectacular mark in the goals square and Nick Baird's banana goal on the run from the boundary line were the highlights of the game.
Mick Viney was also dangerous with his strong marking and accurate kicking at goal, confirming his status as one of the leagues sharp shooters.
The Saints booted nine goals for the quarter, going into the last quarter with a healthy 92 point lead.
3/4 Time score:
Saints 21-13-139 Bulldogs 7-5-47
It was a lackluster final quarter with both teams booting 2 goals for the term. An incident late in the game saw Tony Halloran, Bruce Wall and Stewart Walker sent from the field to `cool off'.
Coach Dick Gleeson, who was led to believe that his players were on report and was not impressed by the actions of his players so late in the game.
He was relieved to find NO reports had been submitted
Final Score
Saints 23-19-157 Bulldogs 9-8-62
After match function.
The boys were very upbeat at the win but all were very wary how close some players were to being reported.
One silly action could jeopardize the whole season. Lets pull our heads in and focus at the job at hand. We all would like to make the finals and hopefully win the premiership considering the hard work and commitment each and everyone have put in. But if further indiscretions occur, the job at hand will become more difficult to achieve.
Let's get switched on for Muswellbrook!!!
By Gerry Taveira
Last Modified on 23/07/2006 16:09