Demons day in hell

By Ken Moore
GARFIELD put a big dent in Kooweerup’s top six hopes after it beat the Demons by 63 points on Saturday. After quarter-time Kooweerup showed all the signs of a middle-of-the-road side and, based on this performance, a big question mark hovers over its ability to match it with the top teams.
Kooweerup opened with plenty of vim and vigour; kicks were hard to come by early and 10 minutes transpired before Garfield coach Brent Eastwell produced a wonderful goal on the run to break the deadlock.
Mid term Demon wingman Steven Greaves, who was in everything in the opening minutes, goaled before the Stars countered with a major by Matthew Hobbs that gave the hosts an eight-point lead at quarter-time.
Eastwell was a driving force for the Stars in the first term and for the Demons defender Jack Carson, Tooradin recruit Lachlan Gillespie and wingman Josh Winter, back from playing in a premiership with Pakenham last season, were all in the thick of the action.
Rival ruckmen Tom Marsh and Matt Cameron had an enthralling duel in the opening term and both imposed their presence on the game and gave their respective sides good drive.
Kooweerup started the second quarter well when a Ben Miller ball-burster pierced the large uprights from well outside the 50-metre line to reduce the margin to only two points at the five-minute mark.
But from then on Garfield lifted and dictated play and with two consecutive goals by Ned Marsh the home side set up an 18-point advantage at the main break.
Wingman Matthew Hobbs and youngster Saxon Watson generated a number of forward sorties during the term while another rising star, Dylan Collis, along with Ned Marsh always looked a big threat across the forward line when the ball was in their area.
Garfield was far more incisive with its use of the ball in the first half but frittered away too many opportunities with poor conversion and this kept the Demons within reach.
Kooweerup was too pedestrian with its ball movement when going forward in the first half and too often went sideways rather than forward, which allowed the Stars’ defence to get numbers back in defence and make goal scoring difficult.
In the opening 10 minutes of the third quarter, Kooweerup bottled up the game, applied tremendous pressure on the ball carrier and defended resolutely but could not manufacture any meaningful attacks.
Mid quarter Ned Marsh drilled through his third goal and this was soon followed by goals to Mal McKenna and Dylan Collis to provide the home side with a comfortable 37-point three-quarter-time lead.
Kooweerup’s forward thrusts in the third quarter were often defused by the Garfield half-back line led by Jamie Ferguson, Ben Jostlear and Nick and Ben Marsh.
Kooweerup coach Paul Williams told his team at three-quarter-time it was all or nothing and to attack at all costs but his words fell on deaf ears. At the two-minute mark of the last term, a left-foot snap by the hard-working Eastwell put an end to the visitors’ winning chances and soon after goals by Tom Marsh and Ben Jostlear, the later with a big, crowd-pleasing torpedo, put the Stars 54 points to the good.
Experienced Demon Bonnie Doon recruit Travis Scott scored two last-quarter goals to save some face for the visitors before Dylan Collis provided the highlight of the game late in the term with a spectacular goal from an almost impossible angle and from then on the Stars cruised to a 63-point victory.
Garfield won because it ran harder and its defence and midfielders worked in unison far better all game. Brent Eastwell led by example and pumped the ball forward at every opportunity and former Warragul teammates Jamie Ferguson and Ben Jostlear offered plenty of rebound from behind the centre.
Rugged defender Phil Burns did well to stymie the usual output of Demon playmaker Rhys Morgan and likewise Shane Reid on Ben Miller. Ben Marsh put his body in around the packs and wingman Matthew Hobbs and Saxon Watson made many telling contributions.
After the game Garfield coach Brent Eastwell said the work rate and endeavour of this team was equal to, if not better than, any of their performances this season.
“Our team measures were up all game, we did not cough it (the ball) up as much usual and we worked hard and we were able to run into space regularly to give us control,” the Stars’ coach said.
Kooweerup had few effective players overall. Among its better contributors were defenders James Alexander, Jack Carson and Craig Dyker, who all did well to repel the regular attacks.
Wingman Steven Greaves had a real go, ruckman Matt Cameron toiled hard and Josh Winter was good before he sustained a leg injury in the second quarter while Gavin Marusic and Jason Williams battled hard in the second half.
Assistant Kooweerup coach Lachlan Gillespie said after the game it was a very disappointing outcome.
“Our work rate was good early but we could not convert it into goals, which has been a problem all season, and for a good part of the game today we did not play smart football,” he said.