The Courier |
REDAN stormed its way to a 102-point victory over a depleted Sebastopol outfit at Marty Busch Reserve yesterday afternoon.
After an entertaining opening half, the Lions dominated the final two quarters, kicking 17 goals to four to completely blow the Burras out of the water.
The visitors simply out-ran and out-muscled their opponents and were impressive when transitioning the ball from defence.
Grant Bell was prominent up forward for the Lions, booting five-goals.
For the home side, young live-wire Michael Powell provided excitement for the Sebastopol faithful.
Tom Lamb was a clear best on ground for Redan, sweeping across half back to great effect and capping his performance off with a nice goal in the closing stages of the match.
Another strong contributor for the Lions was Jarrod Edwards across midfield, playing a strong contested brand of football, while small forward Mitch Phelps was also lively.
Coach Eammon Gill was pleased with his side's performance.
"It was probably our little forwards' best game for the year. They were great at keeping possession and pressure on their backs, which was pleasing," he said.
"We were a bit flat early and Sebas deserves credit for the way they played early. After half-time though, our performance was much better."
Gill was also happy with the defensive structures of his side.
"They were not too bad (the defenders), they were under the pump at times and I thought Pat Britt stood up well at full-back," he said.
It was a fierce contest in the opening term, with Redan kicking the opening three goals of the match before the Burras fought back to reduce the margin to 10
points at quarter time.
A tight arm-wrestle ensued after the first break, until Bell goaled at the five-minute mark and the flood-gates opened as the visitors
piled on four goals in six minutes.
A superior desire to win the contested ball, then run and spread from stoppages was the catalyst behind the Lions' burst, and they led by 33 at half-time.
Injuries to the home side forced coach Shawne Dummett to tinker with his line-up in the second half, with no fit men left on the interchange.
As a result, Sebastopol forward Stephen Keiller was sent to the back line, where he impressed. However, the lack of rotations clearly began to take a toll on Sebastopol as the second half progressed.
And as the Burras tired, the Lions began to dominate in every facet of the game, cruising to their thumping win with relative ease.
