September footy arrived two weeks early at Griffiths Park on Saturday, with Centrals Trinity Beach winning an intense clash against reigning AFL Cairns premiers Cairns Saints.
In hot conditions that warned of an unpleasant summer to come, the Bulldogs outlasted the Saints to prevail by 17 points in a match that had more at stake than four competition points.
With both sides finals-bound, Bulldogs coach Mick Seymour said his team wanted to send a message.
"That was certainly the toughest game that we’ve had all year, physically speaking," he said.
"It was really tough. Neither side took a backward step.
"We sort of got towelled up by Souths the other week and it was pleasing to see the way the boys responded."
Led by the physically imposing Cameron Bartlett and on-baller Ben James, the Bulldogs out-marked, out-kicked and out-ran the home team in the second quarter to take a 21-point advantage into halftime.
But, as was expected by the Griffith Park faithful, the Saints launched a counter-attack in the third quarter worthy of a defending premier not ready to relinquish its crown.
The comeback started with a freakish snap from player-coach Mark Kennedy before majors to forward Matt Walsh and midfielder Gareth Hose narrowed the gap to eight points.
Another quick goal to Walsh erased any advantage the Bulldogs had earlier in the contest and set up a thrilling final term.
Saints scored within a minute of the restart but while they made regular excursions into the opposition 50m, their scoring opportunities were too often wasted.
The Bulldogs were more respectful of their limited chances with late goals to Bartlett and Kane Uebergang, who was yellow-carded earlier in the match for a reckless challenge, sealing a 16.14 (110) to 13.15 (93) win
Last Modified on 25/08/2009 13:49