The Oakleigh Chargers came out of the blocks firing on Saturday to take the early lead and eventually the match over the Northern Knights.
On a foggy autumn morning at Visy Park, the Oakleigh Chargers took only seconds following the opening bounce to slot through their first goal for the day. The Northern Knights on the other hand, had difficulty in making the most of their inside 50 possessions. Both teams displayed good patterns of play; however the Knights could not convert this to the scoreboard, finishing the first term with a mere 3 points to Oakleigh’s 22.
Oakleigh Chargers started the second term much the same as they finished the first. However, the Northern Knights changed their tune part way through the quarter, kicking their first goal through Jake Kalanj. The Knights continued their good form and displayed some impressive teamwork to slot through two more goals before the half time break. Although the Knights had worked their way back into the game, the Oakleigh Chargers had a response for each of their goals, resulting in a 22 point lead at the main break.
The Chargers started the third quarter as though it was a new game; fresh, energetic and delivering some bone crunching tackles. Northern displayed glimpses of talent with players combining to create some exciting goals. However, they were no match for Oakleigh’s precision in front of goal, kicking 5 goals and 1 behind for the term.
The final quarter played out in a similar fashion; Oakleigh showed a stronger fitness base which assisted them around the ground and the Northern Knights struggled to convert their positive passages of play into goals.
Luke McDonald stood out as a top performer for the Oakleigh Chargers, amassing 26 disposals, 7 clearances and booting 2 goals.
Ryan Exton played a significant role in Oakleigh’s victory, applying tough pressure on the opposition, tallying 11 tackles.
The Northern Knights had a handful of players that put forward solid performances, including Jacob Ballard, Ben Lennon, Jake Kalanj and Josh Turner.
They have many encouraging signs to take away from this contest, leading in the overall hit outs, clearances and tackle count.
In the end, the Northern Knights poor kicking in front of goal acted as their achilles heel. Oakleigh had only one additional scoring opportunity over Northern; however they ended with a 41 point victory.
Northern Knights 8.15.63 def by Oakleigh Chargers 16.8.104
Last Modified on 26/04/2012 07:29
