WBFL - Seniors
CASTERTON Sandford FNC is in for a very exciting year, a huge crowd were at training Thursday for meals and a few new faces in the mix was a delight to see.
The pre-season games were a mixed result but it’s the coming together as a team that really matters, though winning is nice.
The Casterton-Sandford senior team had a few debutantes on Saturday, with Fletcher Bright joining his brother, Alister, on the ground at the weekend.
Fletch was joined by Jack Thompson, Ed Pritchard, Cody Ireland and Jesse Walker Gould.
Kane Forbes is again the coach and with many experienced helpers to lighten his load, Kaneo should be able to bring the club much success.
Billy Galpin is back at the club and was quick to put his stamp on the game on Saturday, after a big run and long kick forward, the ever-reliable Diarmid Cleary swooped on the ball and with a strong shepherd by Matt Killey, was able to kick the Cats’ first goal of the day.
Galpin then followed straight after with a goal of his own and the pro-Cats crowd was ignited.
West are always a hard team to beat on their home turf and after some to-ing and fro-ing, were able to get their first on the board.
A maturing Adam McKinnon was making his presence felt in the forward half and he made the most of an opportunity to kick the Cats’ third goal.
Rick Killey will again be a focal point up forward for the Cats this season; Rick has an uncanny knack of getting the front position and led to the boundary where he was able to slot through the Cats’ fourth goal from 40 metres out.
The Roos kicked their second goal late in the quarter, but not to be outdone, Galpin again got the Sherrin long to the top of the square where Ed Pritchard was able to gain possession and goal on the run.
The Cats dominated the quarter with Hamish McCrae dominating in the ruck and the two Dylans - Ryan and Ayton - providing plenty of support from the wings
Quarter time: West Gambier 2.0.12 to Casterton-Sandford 5.2.32
The second quarter was a real slog as the Cats’ defenders blocked all avenues to goal for the Roos.
Jack Thompson and Tom Foster were brick walls, while Gabe Parsons and Nick Schembri provided skilful intercepts in the air and repelling all advances.
The Brothers Bright were also prominent, getting in and under to dig the ball out from their opponents’ grip.
Half time: West Gambier 2.2.14. to Casterton-Sandford 5.3.33
The third quarter saw Schembri use some magic to kick the ball up to himself, gather and pass on to Pritchard who put the ball high and long to Rick Killey who took a strong contested mark and kicked his second goal.
The Cats again moved the ball slickly forward through Pritchard and Galpin and Zac Nash Gained possession under the pack and hand-balled to Rick who snapped the Cats’ seventh goal.
West were able to find a goal of their own, but the young brigade of the Cats stepped up again with McKinnon and Nash kicking a goal each.
Corey Wombwell and Walker Gould continued to impress with bursts through the middle of the ground.
Three quarter time: West Gambier 3.4.22 to Casterton-Sandford 9.5.59.
The last quarter saw the Roo boys push back, but the sheer weight of numbers made scoring difficult.
Pritchard, Galpin and Cleary were a class above and with McCrae dominating in the air and with his tackling at ground level, the Cats were able to keep the Roos down.
McCrae kicked a goal, lessening the impact of Wests four for the quarter.
Casterton-Sandford getting a win on the road by 23 points
RESULTS:
Final scores: Casterton-Sandford 10.6.66 defeated West Gambier 6.7.43
Goal kickers: R.Killey 3, A.McKinnon 2, E.Pritchard, H.McCrae, B.Galpin, Z.Nash and D.Cleary 1.
Better players: H.McCrae, D.Ayton, E.Pritchard, M.Killey, B.Galpin and D.Cleary
This week cats face Millicent at Island Park.
The Saints cannot be taken lightly as they have a very handy list on paper despite the loss last weekend to South Gambier..
