MATCH DETAILS
Southport Sharks 3.6 9.10 15.11 17.13.115
Defeated
Canberra Demons 2.2 4.5 6.8 7.11.53
Goal Kickers – Johnson 3, Manteit 2, Payne 2, Clements 2, Wilkinson, Murdoch, Thurlow, Fyfe, Hancock, Ford, Clayton, Reeves.
Best Players – Clayton, Fyfe, Murdoch, Manteit, Ford, Thurlow, Charlesworth, Boston, Roos, Johnson.
Following significant change at our club over summer, 15 players made their Sharks debut on Good Friday in Canberra. Along with 3 new coaches and a new game plan, the Round 1 hoodoo was under threat from a very focused football side. Kicking into a stiff breeze in the first term, Ford and Reeves led the tackling pressure which Canberra were unable to handle. Manteit kicked 2 for the quarter and provided an early Mark of the Year contender. 9 shots to 4 told the story.
A concentration lapse early in the second term kept Canberra in the game but when Murdoch kicked a great goal late, we had opened up a 35 point half time break. Steve Daniel told the players we now had the opportunity to win the game in the third quarter and the players grabbed it with both hands. Fyfe and Clayton were unstoppable as we slammed on 6 goals to 2 into the wind. This effectively ended the contest.
The sting went out of the game in the last quarter as a 57 point three quarter time lead was only extended to 62 points at the final siren. The boys played a very unselfish, team orientated brand of footy and this saw 12 different goal kickers on the day.
NEXT WEEK – NEAFL Round 1
Redland V Southport
Scottsdale Park
Colburn Ave, Victoria Point
Saturday 7th April, 1.30pm
Featured image courtesy of Canberra Times.