SANDRINGHAM has beaten the Northern Blues by 41-points at Preston City Oval on Saturday afternoon, stretching their winning run out to four games in a row.
With both teams coming off the bye and cold conditions in Melbourne’s north, the Zebras and Blues put on a tough and entertaining contest.
The opening term was ferocious in close and free flowing football on display that resulted in three lead changes that ultimately went Sandringham’s way at quarter time, a ten point lead after kicking the first two majors of the match.
After a passionate plea from the coach to tighten up through the midfield and defensively at the first change, the Zebras responded with five unanswered goals to begin the second term and create a significant 36-point half time lead.
The Blues regrouped at the main break and came out with some fight, winning the third quarter four goals to two to reduce the deficit to 31-points at the last change.
The Zebras missed opportunities to put the home side away early, giving them a way back into the contest if they were able to get a run on and topple Paul Hudson’s men.
A tight final quarter went Sandringham’s way, limiting the Blues to just the one major, despite an inaccurate 2.8 conversion.
Sandringham Coach Paul Hudson was very pleased with the significant result following the bye, with a view to stringing wins together heading into the second half of the season.
“It was a tremendous result to win by 41-points and admittedly, our inaccuracy cost us a bigger margin. However, we’ll take a win like that any week,” Hudson told saints.com.au.
“They challenged us late in the second quarter and again in the third so it was a test of our team resolve to stand up and keep momentum too, which shows the character of our players.
“Our pressure around the ball and our tackle count (57) was really solid, and that was typified from the performances of Cam Shenton Kade Answerth. Both of those boys led by example with their pressure at the contest.
“Nick O’Kearney (27 disposals, 9 marks, 3 goals), Eli Templeton (37 disposals, 5 tackles), Brodie Murdoch (30 disposals, 2 goals) and Jack Sinclair (18 disposals, 5 tackles) got a lot of the football for us and were key contributors.
“We really liked the game of Joe Fisscher from a VFL player who’s played a lot of development football at the lower level. He gave us a target and presented really well, even though his stats weren’t high in numbers.
“We’re really pleased with our VFL contingent who are coming up from the development team and playing their role when we juggle our team selection based on the available St Kilda players we have in the same team.”
Sandringham are back at Trevor Barker Beach Oval next Sunday, where they will host the Frankston Dolphins.
SCOREBOARD
NORTHERN BLUES 3.1 4.3 8.5 9.7 (61)
SANDRINGHAM 4.5 9.9 11.16 13.24 (102)
GOALS: O’Kearney 3, Shenton 3, Murdoch 2, Dennis-Lane 2, Payne, Pierce, Holmes.
BEST: O’Kearney, Shenton, Murdoch, Templeton, Sinclair, Answerth.
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