The Northern Knights have put themselves right into Top 4 contention with another convincing win - this time with a 78 point triumph against the Bendigo Pioneers. It was the second week in a row where the Knights have put on a merciless display, which indicates they are starting to hit their straps heading into the finals. A win next week against the Geelong Falcons will be crucial with the TAC Cup being so close that at the completion of Round 17 there was only one game separating first through to fifth.
The Knights asserted themselves early in the game by kicking the first six goals and eight for the quarter with the advantage of a very strong breeze. Tim Bongetti was getting amongst the goals early with three in the first term, while Matt Kreuzer, Brett Meredith and David Zaharakis were getting plenty of early touches. Jake Spiteri was working incredibly hard as the lead up forward to create space in the forward line and for the second week in a row his incredible endurance was on display.
Bendigo stemmed the flow in the second quarter in what was a relatively even term. Tindarra Hood was lively in the forward line and bobbed up for a couple of typical small forward goals. Nyaburu Kelly was also creating headaches for the Pioneers with his evasive work in congested situations. By half time the Knights margin was already 45 points.
The onslaught continued in the third quarter with ruckman Ben Power doubling his goal tally for the year by kicking two quick ones and very easily could have had a third. Zaharakis was continuing his hard work on the wing and his pace becoming too difficult for the Pioneers as the Knights managed a seven goal quarter despite poor accuracy.
Once again, when kicking into the wind the Knights were able to play a neutral final term with each side kicking four goals, which saw the final margin being 78 points. Kreuzer got a well earned rest towards the end of the game after racking up 26 disposals playing forward, back and in the ruck. Meredith continued his dominant display to be one of the Knights best players for the second week in a row. Spiteri finished the game in the back line to show his versatility and also give Michael Hurley a rest, while Bongetti had been continually adding to his goal tally for the day, eventually finishing with seven.
Coach Paul Satterley was pleased to see the Knights able to back up a big win with another strong performance, particularly given the sides inconsistency throughout the year. "It's good to get two big wins in a row. We've been playing good footy, putting a lot of pressure on the ball.
We're nearing our full strength side at the moment so we need to be playing good footy. We've still got areas in our game that we need to get better at, but we are starting to jell together as a team and that comes from consistency week in, week out."
The side included four U/16 players, two of which were debutants and Satterley was happy with their output. "All of our 16 year old boys contributed - Cachia, Hoody, Smith-Whiting, Hill - they all played quite good."
We want to finish in the Top 4 - give ourselves the double chance, so it's all up to us. We're not going to rely on other teams. Where we sit, we've just got to keep playing good footy.
"Next week will be a super challenge for us. We know that we're coming up against fair dinkum opposition - a potential Top 4 side, so we just have to prepare for that like we do any other game. We don't underestimate any side."
Northern Knights 23.17.155 def. Bendigo Pioneers 11.11.77
Goals: Bongetti 7, Kreuzer 2, Totino 2, Power 2, Hood 2, Meredith 2, Cotchin 2, N.Kelly 2, Spiteri, Thomas
Best: Kreuzer, Zaharakis, Bongetti, Meredith, Spiteri, N.Kelly
Last Modified on 30/03/2008 18:16