The Courier |
Learmonth continued its impressive start to the season with a 145-point demolition of Illabarook on the weekend.
LEARMONTH 28.20 (188)
ILLABROOK 6.7 (43)
A stunning 10-goal second quarter set up the massive victory and showcased a Lakies outfit which has improved substantially from last year.
The Lakies pounced on every Illabarook error and scored in quick-fire bursts, putting the Bulldogs' defenders under immense pressure.
It was a hungry Learmonth side who dismantled the Bulldogs and one that clearly wanted to illustrate how far it had come.
However, while coach John Northey was complimentary of his team, he remained adamant that it needed to claim a significant scalp before being considered a finals contender.
"We've been very happy with the start to the season, and today was a good win, but we've been well and truly beaten by the top sides," he said.
"If we're going to be any good, we need to show some grit and perform well against those sides."
The Lakies' two basketball recruits in Cameron McCallum and Ryan Barnes were both exceptional at opposing ends of the ground.
McCallum kicked six majors, five of which came in the second half, while the impressively mobile Barnes was exemplary across half-back and when moved into the ruck.
Northey praised the young talls.
"(Barnes) did an excellent job today. He really got us going in the second quarter, I thought,"
"And then you've got McCallum at full-forward, who is starting to lead and work football out."
The victory pushes Learmonth into the top eight.
Despite the margin, Illabarook showed signs that it is headed in the right direction.
The Bulldogs controlled small periods of the game and looked dangerous up forward, but were simply unable to sustain these efforts for more than five minutes at a time.
Coach Rod Gladman says he is trying to build confidence within the squad by keeping things simple.
"What we're trying to teach them is the self-belief that you're good enough to beat who you play on," he said.
"If you're getting beaten by 20 goals each weekend, the opposition don't respect you and that's our goal to build respect."
In a tough day for the Bulldogs, defenders Ashley Park and Chris Robertson were admirable in defence, while midfielder Brandon Greenwood worked tirelessly.
