CONSECUTIVE 100-plus point wins has Leitchville/Gunbower well placed to further improve on their two win and two loss start to the Heathcote District Football Netball League season.
More importantly, Saturday’s 108-point victory against White Hills featured a nine-goal last quarter which saw the Bombers play a decidedly more attractive brand of football than had been seen so far this season.
Up until halfway through the third term, the match at Leitchville resembled the previous week’s methodical and slow demolition of Lockington Bamawm United.
From there though the jigsaw pieces that coach Matt Hawken had been moving around looking for the perfect fit fell into place.
Matt Perri (five goals), who had little influence in the first half , kickstarted the Bombers with some elusive play that yielded the small forward three goals for the term.
Cam Ross and Bart Walsh, who had been standout performers for much of the day, led the way from the clearances and with Tom German finding more space around the stoppages, the Bomber machine was rolling.
Good ball usage in the first half by the Demons had kept them in the game but from the midpoint of the third term they were reduced to spectators as the Bombers turned the game into a training drill.
Hawken sensed that the opportunity was there to record another large win at three-quarter time, believing his players should be capable of kicking between eight to 10 goals for the final term.
Nine goals later and Hawken’s command had been followed with unusual dedication .
” It was really good to be able to finish them off like that – we had battled hard early on but score at half time didn’t reflect how we’d played,” he said.
The inaccuracy prevalent in the first half (6.11) evaporated and was replaced with some fine kicking for goal that yielded 15 goals from 21 scoring shots.
“We used the corridor better in the second half and as a result had more shots from better positions” Hawken said.
“Both Sam Kennedy and Aydon Walton make good positions and straighten us up when we go forward”
Next up for the Bombers is a trip to Toolleen to take on a so far inconsistent Mount Pleasant, something the coach won’t be taking lightly.
“There is bit of rain forecast and on their home ground Mounts will be keen to restart their season, so we will have our work cut out,” Hawken said.
