North Geelong has sent a reminder to the rest of the GDFNL that it will be in the thick of the GDFNL premiership race after handing Werribee Centrals a 60-point hiding at Keith Barclay Oval.
The Magpies, who have strung together three consecutive wins to climb back into the top five, made the most of the inclusion of some key talent in beating the Centurions, 16.16 (112) to 7.10 (52).
Co-coach Peter Riccardi, who rated the win “as right up there”, says the return of premiership big man Tom Davis after resorting to using makeshift rucks in recent weeks was vital.
“We had a plan for how we wanted to go in and play, and the boys were excellent,” he said.
“It was pretty much a forward-half game for us.
“Obviously, whoever plays that forward half game, it makes the game a lot easier, and you can set up how you want it to look behind the footy. Um,
The boys were really, really, really good today in that area.”
After a tight first quarter, North put some distance between itself and the Centurions in the second quarter.
The Magpies outscored the visitors four goals to one, to take a 24-point lead into the main break.
However, Riccardi admits they should have done more with their ascendancy
“The scoreboard could have been a lot better for us if we had have kicked goals.
“We missed some easy shots, too. They weren’t hard shots that we missed.
“Running into open goals and spraying them and kicking around corners.
“We could have had a bit of a buffer at halftime, which probably kept Werribee in the game for a little bit longer.”
With the target of winning the third quarter narrowly attained, North Geelong went into percentage boosting mode as it slammed on seven goals in the final term while keeping Werribee Centrals to one major.
“To finish off the way we finished off was really, really pleasing,” Riccardi said.
Riccardi says the win will provide some welcome momentum for North as it prepares for a tough final month of the season.
The Magpies face fellow finals hopefuls Belmont Lions, Bell Post Hill, East Geelong, and Inverleigh.
“We don’t shy away from it,” Riccardi said.
“I know we’ve had a few injuries and that, but we’ve always said that if we play to our system, we’ll win more games than we lose.
It was good to have a few personnel back.
“But, as we touched on before the game, ‘The five blokes that come in don’t mean we automatically win this game of footy’.
“We’ve got to play the way we wanted to play. And stick to our structures and our system.
“The pleasing thing over the last three weeks, with numbers down, we’ve done that.
“And it goes to show, it doesn’t matter who’s out there, we’re going to be competitive.”
Co-captain Tom Schwennesen produced another performance that’s likely to attract Whitley Medal votes, while Boston Riccardi, Ben O’Brien and veteran forward Luke Parker were also standouts.
Parker, the oldest member of North’s lineup, kicked four goals, but Riccardi says it’s his work up the ground that was crucial.
“He just didn’t have four kicks and kick four goals,” Riccardi said.
“He would have had 15 to 20 touches, I reckon. That’s what’s impressed us as a coaching group.
“He’s playing really well at the minute.”
Three games clear of the rest of the competition heading into Round 12, consecutive losses to Winchelsea, Bannockburn and North Geelong have resulted in Werribee Centrals’ surrendering top spot to Winchelsea.
The Centurions should return to the winners’ list against Thomson next week, but then face the Belmont Lions, Bell Post Hill and East Geelong in a challenging conclusion to the home-and-away season.
Winchelsea (1st, 11-3) took another giant step towards a first finals berth in 12 years, and at the same time snatched top spot, after beating Bell Post Hill (6th, 9-5) by 48 points at Eastern Reserve.
Leading by 12 points at halftime, the Blues outscored the Panthers 9.7 to 4.1following the main break on their way to a 17.12 (114) to 10.6 (66) victory.
The Parish brothers, Indi and Fin, were standouts for Winchelsea, with Indi joining league-leading goalkicker Cam Primmer in kicking four goals.
Big man Brock Carter and the talented Dylan Godwin were named the Panthers’ best, while Nick Costello finished with four goals.
East Geelong (3rd, 10-4) needed more than a half to shake off Anakie (9th, 3-11) before recording a 45-point win at AA Semi-Trailers Oval.
The Eagles led by just three points at halftime, but outscored the home team 11 goals to five across the final two quarters to claim a 15.17 (107) to 9.8 (62) victory.
Noah Charman and Caleb Ezard kicked four goals apiece for East, with Austin Mulvahil and Jack Doyle standouts.
Recruit Jack Sutherland finished with three goals and was Anakie’s best.
Thomson (10th, 3-11) held on for a thrilling six-point win over Corio (11th, 1-13) at All In One Oval, 11.10 (76) to 9.17 (71).
Captain Jordan Camm’s stunning season continued for the Tigers, finishing with five goals, while veteran duo Paul Davis and Sam Jacka were important.
Hayden Burns kicked three goals for the Devils.
Mason Dickson has put himself back in the hunt for the Wayne Tyquin Medal as Inverleigh (8th, 8-6) recorded a percentage-boosting 112-point win over Geelong West (12th, 0-14) at Scaada Stadium.
Dickson kicked ten goals in the 22.20 (152) to 6.4 (40) victory to take his season tally to 55, four behind Winchelsea’s Cam Primmer.
Stuart Goddard kicked two goals for the Giants.
The round concludes this (Sunday) afternoon with the Reconciliation Game between finals hopefuls Belmont Lions (5th, 9-4) and Bannockburn (7th, 8-5) at Winter Reserve.
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