The Inverell Saints have made it 3 wins on trot, and 4 of their last 5 with a resounding 75 point victory over fellow finalists the Gunedah Bulldogs at Varley Oval on Saturday. The match was potentially a finals preview, however with the two Tamworth teams to meet this weekend, the Saints have an outside chance of sneaking into the top 2 and a Major Semi trip to Tamworth in the first week of the finals.
The Bulldogs made the trip to Inverell under-manned and under-strength, but started the game off well and kicked the first goal of the game, and looked very strong for the majority of the first quarter. The Saints were failing to put any scoreboard pressure onto the Dogs, and had their trips into the forward line consistently repelled. The forward line was struggling to get on top of the 'dogged' Gunnedah boys, and a 5 point lead into the first change did not reflect the midfield dominance of the Saints.
It was in the second quarter that the Saints took control of the match, kicking another 4 goals but keeping the Dogs to just 1. In fact, the Dogs could not manage more than 1 goal in each of the last 3 quarters. It was testament to the Saints backline, led superbly by Justin Pay, who provided a huge amount of run and rebound from the defense, with excellent contributions from Shaun Mansbridge and Mark Heath.
The second half was more of the same, with the Saints kicking 10 goals to 2 during that period, with Beau Ryan a constant danger up front, and big Jason Gobbert providing a strong target in the goal square. Add Mick Corley to the mix, who did a fantastic tagging role, and the Saints totally dominated the rest of the match, with the final margin being a true reflection of the dominance. It was a good team effort from the Saints, who will now sweat on the fitness of a few important players before next week's game at Tamworth against the Cats. A good win will see the Saints take second, provided the Swans and Roos don't draw their last game of the home and away season.
Last Modified on 17/08/2009 19:16