Watsonia: 22.16-148
Panton Hill: 7.5-47
Goal Kickers: M. Peck 2, J. White, J. Whitcher, A. Anderson, D. Pratt, B. Strongman
Best Players: B. Strongman, A. Anderson, W. Box, J. White, S. Northrop, S. Walker
With Watsonia on a run of losses leading into this match, and the Redbacks focus on intensity during the week on the training track, there was plenty of optimism that we could reverse the result from the corresponding match earlier in the season.
The match started very well for Panton Hill and by the first break we had a couple of majors on the board and had managed to keep the Saints goalless. Watsonia well and truly reversed the trend in the second quarter and kicked eight goals to one to take a solid lead in at half time. From these two contrasting quarters it was obvious that the side with (you guessed it) more intensity, would swing the game in their favour.
Unfortunately it was the Saint that managed to gain the ascendancy after the main break. Their four goals versus our two in the third term wasn’t too bad by the Hillers but saw the deficit blow out to over seven goals at the final change. The forth quarter was very disappointing; Watsonia opened the flood gates and slotted through 10 majors to extend the final winning margin to just over the tonne.
Surprise, surprise, BOG: B. Strongman. Whitesnake did a marathon of hard running and was very impressive in the first half whilst Adam Anderson (up from the reserves) worked very hard and managed to slot through a major for his efforts. Stevie Northrop had no hesitation throwing his weight around and took some telling marks in defence and likewise Snappy was very solid down back.
THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY FROM THE MAGOOS?
Watsonia: 9.14-68
Panton Hill: 3.11-29
Goal Kickers: J. Anderson 2, B. Trim
Best Players: D. Collins, C. Tanti, D. Walton, J. Cunningham, T. Coleman, A. Flanagan
‘Soft’? Panton Hill players are not soft. After a particularly disappointing trip over the gorge a week prior, the Redbacks were fired up early to redeem themselves against Watsonia on a freakin’ cold Saturday afternoon at the old Grimshaw Street ground.
The Hillers had all of the play in a physical, sometimes fiery encounter, but some wayward scoring attempts kept the Saints just ahead for most of the match. Jimmy Anderson kept the Hills in it and slotted a couple of pearlers with his shiny white boots, and Watsonia lead by just two goals at three-quarter time.
The final quarter was looking like a corker, but things got tougher for the Hills when the icy cold breeze turned into a low-grade hurricane to the Saints’ advantage. Unfortunately the Redbacks players appeared to switch off after a quick start from the Watsonia camp. The Saints created an overlap which worked very well, allowing their onballers to push forward with ease, and bury the Hills.
Regardless of the result, Jono was content with the effort his players put into the match, and acknowledged that the team had taken another step in the right direction.
Big man Dylan had a great day out, and was in many contests, dominating both overhead and on the ground, due to his physical pressure that he created to the advantage of himself and his team mates. Earlier in the game it was ‘Tanti-time,’ which is a period of play where Chris Tanti bursts out of his skin in a totally dominant fashion with superhuman affect. As a result Chris had a bit of confidence which he used well for the remainder of the game, creating havoc for the opposition.
Kiwi (#2) has been improving significantly in previous weeks, and Saturday was his best game yet. The ex-rugby union player was everywhere, and used his pace and skill very well to propel the Redbacks forward throughout the day. Another new player who recently crossed from union is Jamie Cunningham, who, in his third match, appeared very comfortable in laying bone crunching tackles and winning the hard ball.
Trenta and Flange were also very reliable through the middle of the ground, and maintained some ball-winning ability and order to the side, which is still young and widely inexperienced.
There’s no turning back from here. The Reserves side has raised the bar for itself and will be looking to create havoc in the next couple of weeks against teams that may still be aiming for finals. It’s a home game on the 19th, against Macleod, followed by an already booked out trivia night at the Panton Hill Hotel. So be there from 11:55am on Saturday, and get vocal for our boys.
