Port Register Two Victories at Home
After a wild wet Friday night the Cygnet Football Club welcomed the Sorell Football Club to Cygnet Oval last Saturday to cold and slippery conditions for football.
With Sorell not fielding a Colt’s side this season, it was a chance to lie in bed for a couple of extra hours before the Reserves match kicked off at noon. The Cygnet side were wary that the Eagles had almost defeated the strong Kingborough side the week before, but the Port were able to field their strongest side all season with some players back from seniors, injury and work commitments. The Port started the better of the two sides and were handling the slippery conditions well. A four goal to one term was a pretty handy lead given the conditions. The Port really strengthened their grip on the game, and probably won it in fact, in the second term kicking three goals to nil against the slight breeze. Coach Brett Direen made sure that the side did not leave it in the rooms at half time and the side responded well with another three goals in the third term while holding the Eagles goal-less. Sorell kicked a couple of majors in the last term, and fought out the match till the very end, but were no match for a determined and rejuvenated Cygnet side who went on to win by 51 points in an even team effort.
Better players for the Port included Craig Phillips (3 goals) who was clearly best on ground with numerous clean possessions in the conditions and his work around the contests and stoppages. He received great support from “Jumping Jack” Matt McIntyre who pulled down some screamers with the wet ball and provided a real target up forward and rucked well when needed. Shaun Bird back from the senior side rucked tirelessly around the ground while “Libba” Paul again played another consistent game with his chasing and tackling a highlight. Timmy Bone played his usual characteristic game putting his body on the line and Morgan Penny was really good when given a shut-down role and later provided scoring opportunities across half forward.
It was an important win for the boy’s and gives the side some momentum and a real morale boost for the next match against Huonville after the representative match this Saturday. After last week’s notes, it is great to see some new and former players back on the track to boost numbers in the reserves. The side demonstrated if they play to the best of their ability and follow direction, they can be extremely competitive on any given day.
The Senior side were looking to string two wins together, something that has eluded them all year. They certainly were not under-estimating the Eagles outfit regardless of their big loss to Kingborough, as the conditions would mean that both sides skill level may even out. The Port as usual flew out of the blocks kicking 5 goals with Aaron Grubb in everything kicking 4 personal goals to Sorell’s one in the first term. The Port maintained their superiority in the second term kicking another 4 goals to the Eagles 2 to hold what appeared to be a match winning 38 point half time lead in the conditions. A six goal to 3 third term looked to have the Port well on there way to a 100 plus point victory; however the young Eagles had other ideas and refused to lie down. With the Cygnet side dropping their work rate and the Sorell side starting to run in numbers, they outscored the Port 5 goals to 2 to reduce the margin back to a respectable 34 point loss when it looked like the Port were heading for a percentage booster.
Matt Tyrrell reminded his side after the match that these types of fade-outs prove costly and is something that will be rectified.
Better players included Adam Duggan who is in outstanding form in the backline, while Captain Bradley Watson is also in stellar form with another dominant display. Ben Free was very good on his wing in a shut-down role and Jonathon Tyrrell (2 goals) played his best game since joining the Port. Mitchell Direen and Rhys Jennings were both solid contributors. The major goal scorer was Aaron Grubb with 5 and Ben Halton with 4.