The Inverell Saints have won their third straight game for the year accounting for a determined Tamworth Kangaroos at Varley Oval on Friday night. The Roos served it right up to the Saints and dominated for large periods of the game, but the Saints repsponded to record their most impressive win of the year so far. The final score did not reflect the intensity and closeness of the match and the Roos proved they will be a force in the TAFL this year.
The Saints started the match right on the back foot. Despite an inspirational ANZAC ceremony before the bounce, they were flat and struggled to contain the Roos forward line who ran the defense around Varley. The Roos were unable to take the control they should have had, due mainly by inspirational acts by Corey Borthwick and Pete Dunn in the backline preventing several attacks on goal. A couple of bad misses on goal by the Saints proved to be an indication of what was to come through the night and the Roos took a handy 11 point lead into quarter time. Coach Dick Gleeson gave a passionate speech to his troops, urging them to attack the ball in the greasy conditions and to stay focussed.
The second quarter proved the turn of the momentum in the match. The Saints midfield started to dominant clearances and Sam Kimmince provided first services to his rovers at every stoppage. The Saints continually drove the ball deep into the forward line but were consistently frustrated by their own mistakes in front of goal, and were unable to convert the dominance into a substantial lead. However the defense of the Saints started to work well and combined to shut down the Roos attack, restricting them to just 3 behinds for the quarter. The Saints kicked away late in the quarter and took a 17 point lead into the long break.
The message from Gleeson at the half was to keep working for each other and signs were good just 10 seconds into the third when the Saints kicked a goal and opened up their biggest lead of the game at 23 points. Perhaps thinking this would be the opening of the floodgates, the Saints took the foot off the pedal and the Roos pounced immediately. 3 quick goals, 2 of which came from undisciplined 50m penalties, put the margin back at 3 points and all the momentum with the Roos. The Saints were able to steady through goals to Mick Viney and Gary Hadland with the teams going goal for goal at the end of the quarter. A late snap right on the 3 quarter siren (or maybe even after) by Hadland, opened the gap back to 9 points at the last change.
The last quarter started amongst a flurry of activity with both teams aware that the first goal could well decide who would win the match. It seemed the Saints were going to try to win the game 1 point at a time, missing several early opportunities to bury the Roos. The first goal of the quarter was not kicked until 12 minute mark, a miracle snap by Fraser Hughes from the boundary. This lifted the Saints, who kicked the only 3 other goal for the quarter and ran away with the match in the closing stages. Once again the Saints defense kept the Roos goal-less for the quarter, working together and helping out whenever possible.
The final winning margin of 45 points was not a true reflection of the match but a win the Saints will be happy to take. It keeps them on top of the competition ladder and the only team yet to be defeated this season after 3 rounds. The Saints face the "longest road trip in football" next week at Muswellbrook, a match that is traditionally a tough ask, however the Cats are struggling for numbers and did not make the trip to Armidale this week due to lack of players. They will be something of an unknown quantity, but the Saints will approach the game with plenty of determination and be looking to keep their spot at the top of the ladder.
Last Modified on 26/04/2008 16:01