The Northern Knights grinded their way to their second win of the season overcoming the Western Jets by 14 points at Visy Park on Sunday as Adem Saricaoglu reports.
The Jets’ clean skills kept the game even on the scoreboard but they couldn’t match the Knights’ intensity after quarter time.
The Knights fought hard to get back into the game after conceding the first five goals and clawed their way back for a gallant win.
Knights’ coach Anthony Allen urged his midfield group to correct their defensive setups and run the footy into attack during the first break, which saw them kick six goals to one in the second quarter to put them in front by three at the main break.
The Jets won every centre clearance in the first quarter and blitzed the Knights in every facet of the game, but in a stunning form reversal, it was the Knights who constantly got first use of the footy out of the middle in the second term.
The Knights looked formidable with Billy Longer, who kicked two key goals in the comeback, and Brandon Lee, who presented inside forward 50 all day and finished with two goals.
Longer proved crucial across half forward with his strong marking and clean finishing skills and worked very well with his midfielders led by Douglas Morris, who was a candidate for best-on-ground.
Back-to-back goals from Matthew Atta put the Knights in front late in the quarter and swung the game’s momentum in their favour.
The Jets responded well after half time, going harder at the footy and providing key forward Ashlin Brown with numerous marking opportunities, which eventually paid off when he converted a free kick after missing two shots earlier in the term.
Gun Jets’ midfielder Jordan Mead then scored back-to-back goals to give his side some relief on the scoreboard, but the Knights refused to let the game slip.
That effort eventually paid off on the scoreboard with Anthony Bonaddio slotting a classy goal from 50 to bring the Knights back within a kick by the final change.
The see-sawing nature of the game saw Jet Kym Taylor score a nice crumbing goal on the three-quarter time siren, setting the stage perfectly for what looked to be a great climax to the game.
Jets’ tagger Jack Charleston won praise from his coach Steve Kretiuk at the final change for keeping Nick Maric quiet and was asked to stand tall inside 50 for the last quarter.
However it was Maric who broke the deadlock at the nine-minute mark, which was consolidated by Tim Totevski 10 minutes later with a goal that proved to be the sealer.
Maric again goaled on the final siren to stretch the final margin to 14 points.
Morris and Lindsay Apted were both great for the Knights, while Taylor and Mead should expect some best-and-fairest votes for the Jets.
The Knights will be back at Visy Park to take on the NSW ACT Rams next weekend, while the Jets will take on the Gippsland Power in Morwell, after the Easter break.
Last Modified on 19/04/2011 10:09