The Standard | KOROIT showed why it is Hampden league premiership favourite when it winged North Warrnambool Eagles in one fell swoop.
The Saints piled on four goals in a 10-minute burst to start the second quarter on their way to a comprehensive 18.15 (123) to 7.7 (49) win at a muddy Bushfield Recreation Reserve on Saturday.
The assault was swift and ruthless.
Drew O’Grady, Ben Dobson, Isaac Templeton and Will Couch hit the scoreboard before the Eagles had a chance to catch their breath.
All of a sudden the Saints’ three-point quarter-time buffer had swelled to 28 points.
Koroit controlled the tempo from that point on.
It swept out of defence with ease – the Eagles were restricted to five goals after quarter-time – linked up through the middle with purpose and took 24 marks inside its attacking 50.
Saints coach Adam Dowie said his charges overcame an early challenge from the Eagles, which have now dropped their past two matches to top five opponents.
“We sort of felt if we get scoreboard pressure on them then the game might open up and I think that’s what happened,” he said.
“I think Ben Dobson might have got two or three of them clearances and it started there.
“Once we had the game on our terms it opened up a bit for us.
“I thought Tempy (Isaac Templeton) was unbelievable – I don’t know how many touches he had, a lot – and James Gow was the same.”
Couch and ruckman Jeremy Hausler finished with three goals apiece, while former Eagle Michael Darmody took countless marks in attack but was wayward.
Dangerous Saint Sam Dobson kicked one major in his return from a knee injury and was well held by Eagle 100-gamer Adam Wines.
“I thought we used the width of the 50 really well so we were quite unpredictable to the opposition about where we were going to kick the ball to and that’s hard to defend,” Dowie said.
Dowie also praised the Saints for their skill level – one of their strengths all season.
“What we do a lot of work on is kicking the ball,” he said.
“They (the players) like to do their weights but in pre-season and training we just do a lot of us using the footy. Generally if you use the ball well, you keep the ball for longer and that means you don’t have to defend as well.
“The score looks like we were a really good defending team, which I think we are, but I think it’s got a lot to do with that we can keep the ball and the opposition have less time to score.”
The Eagles were down a rotation early after teenager Sam McKinnon fractured his ankle.
