NYAH-Nyah West United have secured a double-chance in the upcoming finals, with their 70-point win over Tooleybuc-Manangatang guaranteeing the Demons a top-three finish.
The win came off the back of the Demons’ trademark run-and-gun style, the frantic pace leading NNWU to score freely in the 16.16 (112) to 6.6 (42) win.
A five-goal final quarter to Brandyn Grenfell saw the star full-forward finish the game with seven goals, giving him a 13-goal lead on the goal kicking tally.
O’Neill said while his side’s game plan wasn’t complicated, it seemed as though there was little to stop it.
“We just really played our brand of footy today, run with the footy and string those handballs together when we can,” he said.
“Last week we didn’t really get that going until the last quarter, when we were able to pile on four goals pretty fast.
“We know what we do we best and how to hurt teams with that, it’s just about doing it for a full game.
“It’s a pretty simple plan – the opposition knows what we like to do, it’s just on them to stop us.”
It didn’t take long for NNWU to open the game’s account, after Riley Daniels slotted an early set-shot less than two minutes into the game.
Connor Nutting quickly responded with the Saints first goal of the day, before the Demons regained their composure and the slick ball-movement returned.
NNWU finished the quarter with a run of three unanswered goals from Jordan Iudica, Ethan Saville and Ethan Curran, which pushed the score out to 21 points at the first break.
Much of the Demons’ run was generated off the half-back line, with Jaydyn Stirling starring in his first game back in the side since Round 9 in the absence of Joel Walsh.
Corey Daniels was also reintroduced to the side for the first time since Round 9 adding another experienced player to flank centre-halfback and co-coach Nick O’Neill.
The Demons were able to find a good balance between intercept marking and running off their opponents, often finding themselves on the end of the Saints’ forward entries.
O’Neill said his squad had a number of players who can do a job in the backline when called upon.
“We’ve trained hard to prepare blokes to step into these roles,” he said.
“If we lose someone big like Joel (Walsh), it’s not leaving a huge hole in the backline for us, we’ve really worked to ensure we’ve got a lot of blokes who can roll through there.
“Us older guys know where to be and how to use our voice and direct the guys around us.
“It helps the younger guys with their games, and it also helps us because we don’t have to be the ones running with it, we can sit in the hole and they’ll just go.”
While Saints ruckman Connor McDonald battled to give his on-ballers first use all day, Demons duo Blake Larkings and Brandyn Grenfell worked in tandem to nullify his influence early.
Blake and Gareth Grant and Elliot Chalmers put in tireless effort throughout the game, battling for the hard ball and working strongly at the feet of McDonald.
The Demons were able to hold Tooleybuc-Manangatang to just three behinds in the second quarter, and could have put the game well beyond reach if they converted better.
NNWU kicked two goals for the quarter through Ethan Saville and Nic Threadgold, but also added five behinds of their own to carry a 35-point margin into half time.
Held goalless for the first half, league goal kicking leader Brandyn Grenfell exploded into action in the second half after performing strongly in the ruck battle for the first half.
Grenfell kicked two of the Demons’ four goals in the third quarter, before going on a run of five consecutive goals in the final quarter to blow the margin out to over 80 points.
The away supporters were still in full voice late in the game, as the Saints kicked the game’s final two goals thanks to Joshua Williams and Connor Nuttings’ fourth goal for the game.
The Saints will host Lake Boga in round 17, where they will look to put an end to a five-game winless streak.
The Demons will take the week off with the bye, before they finish their regular season campaign away at Cohuna in the final round.
SCORES:
NNWU: 4.5 (29), 6.10 (46), 10.14 (74), 16.16 (112)
TM:1.2 (8), 1.5 (11), 2.5 (17), 6.6 (42)
VOTES
3 – Jaydyn Stirling (NNW United)
2 – Brandyn Grenfell (NNW United)
1 – Jordan Iudica (NNW United)
