TOOLEYBUC Manangatang jumped into the top three with an impressive second-half dismantling of Woorinen on Saturday.
The Saints made a statement early before a second quarter charge by the Tigers put some interest back in the contest, but it was all about the visitors after halftime.
Brad Morris’ side has once again shown it has what it takes to go deep into September for the second consecutive season, despite a slow start to 2015 that saw it lose its first two games.
But the Saints have an interestingly mixed playing group that continues to gel further as it prepares for an assault on the top three.
Woorinen, on the other hand, is not a million miles away from finals football. The Tigers were at their best against Koondrook Barham last week to record their third win against their best-credentialed opposition to date.
But on the strength of Saturday’s second half Marcus DeMaria’s side still has plenty of work to do, with the Tigers unable to score a goal against a determined Saints.
Tooleybuc Manangatang boasts a dynamic forward line. Kayne McAlpine is a solid target and finished yesterday’s game with four goals.
Darcy Spinks and Frankie Robinson were sound foils to McAlpine with two goals each. In contrast the Tigers could not manage a multiple goal scorer.
Josh Stone worked hard around the ground to be the Saints best, while Narbie Kelly again got plenty of the ball. The Tigers were well-served by young stars Jose Miliado and Jake Schmidt, while more experienced players like Matt Iannucci and Victor Siciliano were also good.
But from early on the game appeared to be controlled by the Saints. They had two majors on the board before Doug Palmer and Danny Stone combined inside 50m for the latter to dob the Tigers’ first.
Tooleybuc Manangatang already appeared more dangerous going forward and calm in defence, taking a 20-point lead at quarter time.
The second quarter was Woorinen’s best, with the home side working their way back into the match and taking charge with the first two goals of the term.
It meant that the new scoreboard end appeared to be the easiest to attack to, and enhanced the competitive feel of the contest.
And when McAlpine responded for the Saints, Dwayne Hamlyn hit back for the Tigers with hopes the game would remain close all day.
But when the big Saints forward again scored a major on halftime, it stymied the sense of the Tigers’ progress and, disturbingly, they would not manage another major.
The goal of the day came at the 11-minute mark of the third term when Narbie Kelly gathered the ball at a stoppage on half-back.
After a couple of bounces he found McAlpine on half-forward, the Saint couldn’t mark the ball but gathered it and found Spinks whose goal put the visitors 23 points up.
Morris and Spinks added further majors in the remaining time before three-quarter time, putting the result on ice for the Saints.
The Saints didn’t let up in the last half-hour, keeping the foot on the pedal to extend the final margin to 52 points with Robinson getting in on the goal-scoring act twice.
It feels like there’s plenty of upside about the Saints as Morris prepares for his side’s second consecutive home game at Manangatang next week. They will start warm favourites against Balranald.
The Tigers have some thinking to do before they head to Lalbert for their Round 8 encounter with the Mallee Eagles.
