The Courier |
A dominant performance from Grant Bell as well as strong performances from Mitchell Phelps and Tom Lamb powered Redan to a 56 point win over East Point at City Oval on Saturday afternoon.
REDAN 17.10 (112)
EAST POINT 8.9 (57)
In a scrappy opening quarter, the Lions were able to establish a lead with fast ball movement inside 50 for the Redan forwards to take advantage of, in particular, Damian Horbury and Mitchell Phelps who both hit the scoreboard early in the term.
It took a composing kick from Jack Romeril to register the Kangaroos' first major, as the trying conditions made the game about who could use the ball most efficiently.
Come quarter time, Redan held a commanding 20-point lead which, given the conditions, was a huge advantage.
Bell and Phelps helped Redan build on its already strong position in the second term, with Bell nailing two crucial goals in the first half of the quarter.
Hayden Walters tirelessly worked in the midfield for the Kangaroos, continuing on his superb form
that included back to back best afield efforts and a brilliant performance on interleague weekend.
Together with Jason Delaney and Sam Cooper, they tried to inspire their Kangaroo teammates, but it was the harder and tougher Redan bodies that mastered the conditions better in the first half, proven by a lead of 38 points at the half way point of the match.
The half-time lead that Redan enjoyed was quickly extended by Brenton Riordan within minutes of the third term, and was further extended soon after.
It was however East Point that converted back to back goals for the first time that day, with Jayden Hind converting a shot from a tough angle to bring the margin back under 40 points.
Grant Bell continued his impressive game by kicking the first goal of the last term, as the City Oval began to resemble a mud pit.
Jayden Hind managed to snare just the fifth goal of the day for the Roos, but this was quickly matched by Bell who kicked his second for the term.
East Point was able to add a few late goals to add some respectability to the scoreboard, with Jayden Hind, Tom Cashin and Jack Romeril all hitting the scoreboard, but it was too little too late for East Point.
Fittingly it was Bell who kicked the final goal of the game, setting up the 56-point victory for his side.
Redan coach Eamonn Gill said he was very impressed with the evenness of his side.
"The performance of Pat Britt who played well on Dan Jordan, as well as Grant Bell and Brenton Riordan running through the midfield and up forward, we thought the whole team stuck to their guns really well," he said.
East Point coach Dan Jordan urged his side to look at the positives of their performance, as well as emphasising the need for each player to play their role effectively for the side.
