NYAH-Nyah West United forward Hassan Ahmat-Watkins put on a goalkicking masterclass against Tyntynder, ending the game with nine goals.
NNW United ran away 20-point winners in the hard-fought battle .
With both teams vying for a spot in the five, neither were going to back off in a high-paced, physical match.
Demons joint coach Nick O’Neill said his side were expecting a tough game.
“We’re both in a similar position where we need a win to play finals,” he said. “The two sides were both very hungry for a win, but we just ran over the top of them in the end.
“We just needed to keep our pressure on, and we knew our fitness would allow us to run over the top.
“We were cutting the angles well, and started to use the middle a bit more as well to cut the opposition up.”
The sides stayed within a two-goal margin most of the day before NNW United kicked away with five final-term goals.
Tyntynder’s Liam Whelan opened the scoring with a goal before Ahmat-Watkins quickly responded with his first two.
Ahmat-Watkins added one more in the quarter, a spectacular snap over his shoulder from 30 metres out.
The Bulldogs kept up the fight, with Matt Corney awarded a 50 metre penalty that gifted the Dogs a shot from the goal square.
O’Neill continued his side’s straight kicking, landing his side’s fifth goal without a behind, giving them a five-point lead at the first break.
With the Demons winning the central stoppage battles, Tyntynder were content to move the ball upfield with precise switch kicks, instead of long kicks down the line.
NNW United coaches called on their players to force the opposition into longer kicks.
But in the second term the ploy twice worked to Tyntynder’s advantage when they transitioned quickly out of defence with booming kicks down the centre of the ground.
Both times, Jason Eagle kicked a goal after receiving the ball after just two kicks from the Dogs’ defensive 50. Eagle finished the game with three goals.
O’Neill said he thought his side did well to switch on to this.
“I think our zone was a little too far forward and were relying heavily on our guys winning the ball back,” he said.
“We managed to tighten that up and made sure our boys sat back and went a bit more man-to-man later in the game.”
Tyntynder went into the main break leading by nine points, mainly thanks to their forward craft. Small forwards Patrick Blake and Liam Whelan were integral to their side’s ball movement.
Following the half-time break, the high-scoring play was replaced with stoppage-heavy football as both sides started to feel the effects of the physical battle.
Much of the third quarter was spent with the ball being moved around the boundary, only two goals coming from the boot of Ahmat-Watkins.
NNW United kicked away in the final term, locking the ball in their forward half for much of the quarter and stifling the Bulldogs’ ball movement to level their wins and losses at four and four.
The Demons face a stiff test against Balranald this week, with the opportunity to stake their finals credentials, while Tyntynder face a tough opponent in Cohuna.
FINAL SIREN
| Tyntynder | 4.1 | 9.3 | 9.5 | 11.7 | 73 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NNW United | 5.1 | 7.4 | 9.7 | 14.9 | 93 |
VOTES:
3 votes Hassan Ahmat-Watkins (NNW United)
2 votes Nick O’Neill (NNW United)
1 votes Patrick Blake (Tyntynder)
