The Courier |
EAST Point once again demonstrated its on-ground agility with a 53-point victory over Lake Wendouree at the Eastern Oval on Saturday.
Despite booting six goals to none in the opening quarter, the Kangaroos had to work hard for the remainder of the match to eventually win 14.21 (105) to 7.10 (52).
Although play remained well contested throughout most of the game, Lake Wendouree was never able to peg back the Kangaroos' lead.
East got the jump on the Lakers early, with Stefan Pye snapping the first goal of the match 12 minutes in.
Another five goals soon followed for the quarter, including a bomb from outside 50 metres from Toby Boyle.
Click here to read more footy stories at our Footy HQ hub
A sudden change of tempo for the Lakers in the second term saw them push much harder with four goals, beating East Point's second quarter tally of three.
From then on it could no longer be assumed that East Point had it all its own way, with an evenly contested match ensuing.
The Lakers kept the pressure tight and did not allow their opposition to regain earlier clearances.
Their biggest hurdle was to overcome the score margin left by their under-performing first quarter.
Lake Wendouree's improved form held it in good stead throughout the remainder of the game. This was particularly evidenced by Brent Olszewski, who booted two goals for the second quarter, including a brilliant snapshot 27 minutes in.
Scoring slowed in the second half, with the third quarter resulting in only two goals from each team.
Nevertheless, play was consistent and the contest even as the ball made its way to every part of the field. However, many crucial turnovers resulted in several missed opportunities for Lake Wendouree.
Although it never looked like dropping the match, East Point steadied with three goals to one in the final quarter.
Brad Whittaker was particularly instrumental in the Roos' success with many useful possessions.
After the match, East Point coach Dan Jordan said there was a lot of room for improvement in his team's performance.
"I thought our intensity was a bit down," he said. "We had a big emphasis on the start to try and get an advantage in the first quarter which we did, and realistically the next three quarters was just a grind.
"It was probably pretty even from there on in.
"We didn't get a lot of clearances."
