On a day in which the police were honoured in the Blue Ribbon round of matches, Nyah Nyah West United proved too strong for the visiting Swan Hill side, triumphant in convincing fashion by 108 points.
After a scrappy five minute opening to the match in autumn sunshine, Daryl White imposed himself on the contest.
He opened the goal scoring after excellent delivery by Joel Campbell, who also provided strength around the stoppages.
This was matched by Darcy Ryan for the Swans who put his body in fearlessly.
United’s slick movement of the ball put enormous pressure on Swan Hill’s back half and this translated into easy shots at goal.
By contrast, Swan Hill had to work hard and their first goal came courtesy of a fortuitous bounce from Declan Quin when trying to find the leading Condely.
This lifted the Swans and Condely, after a strong mark and forward pressure, found himself with two goals to give them impetus heading to quarter time.
But Knee and White answered for the Demons to allow them a 13-point lead.
The second quarter gave an inkling of what was to transpire for the remainder of the match.
United controlled possession for large chunks of play but were unable to convert their chances. Ash Thompson featured heavily around the ground as did White who controlled the forward line.
The Halligans and Dullard were trying to lift the Swans but too often the United backline, led by Jarrod Skinner and Wingfield, repelled these attacks. Lively forward Sambono’s soccer goal was a highlight and although United led by only four goals at half time, the feeling was it was theirs to lose.
Dullard and Thoolen opened with quick goals, punctuated by Knee to give the visitors a sniff of victory. But it was a false dawn as the Demons put on a show that delighted their supporters. Hard work around the stoppages combined with timed forward running and precision delivery allowed the Demons to slam on the next seven goals to put the outcome beyond doubt.
The rout continued in the final stanza of play, in which United put on a further 11 goals. The main beneficiaries were White, Sambono and Knee who combined for 16 goals. Swan Hill tried hard and finished with the last three goals but too much was left to too few. Maloney’s absence will mean that youngsters in Burns and Joyce will need to pick up the slack and they will.
United had too many good players on the day, none better than Daryl White who finished with six majors and twenty-plus marks, it seemed. Sambono finished with five along with Knee. Ash Thompson kept finding the ball and Skinner was excellent at half back.
Swan Hill were best served by Ryan, Dullard and the Halligans. Thoolen fought a lone hand in the ruck.
