Sandringham made it two from two to start season 2012, beating North Ballarat by 55 points away from home last Sunday. The Zebras led for the entire game, set up by a good first quarter kicking 7 goals to 2 goals. The first quarter set the tempo of what was going to be a good day out for Sandringham – their first win at Eureka Stadium since round 14, 2006 as Nicholas Ciantar reports.
The Zebras midfield had the better of the Roosters all day, with Adam Cockie having 25 disposals and Myke Cook 22. The rise of Michael Sikora for the Zebras has been very beneficial, as he was a standout in the ruck all day. Sikora amassed 33 hitouts, in an impressive performance by the Zebra recruit.
“Our on-ballers were great in the first quarter, Myke Cook was outstanding and our ruck Mike Sikora got us going” Sandringham Development Coach Paul Kennedy said after the game.
Apart from a slow start by the Roosters which saw them trail by 34 points at quarter time, they were also hampered by an early injury to Paul McMahon.
Tom Curren had a standout game for the Zebras, working hard early. He gathered 31 disposals as a key midfielder, and provided some run and carry to give the Zebras some great forward 50 entries.
The second quarter saw the Zebras extend their lead to 55 points at the main break. Sam Dunell starred for the Zebras kicking three goals in the 2nd quarter (5 goals for the match), in which was an impressive performance.
“Dunell was a bit of a foil for him (Daniel Archer), he was able to flood across and take some marks and isolate his man one on one,” Kennedy said.
In a quarter which saw the Roosters kept goalless, the Zebras continued to show their impressive performance from the first quarter. A brilliant passage of play saw the Zebras have two kicks from the backline on a counter attack, to set up Daniel Archer (4 goals) with a goal.
“Archer coming back showed good courage actually, he set himself underneath the footy a couple of times… gave us a good target.
“Some of the other forwards were good too, (like) Jackson Coleman, and they sort of worked as a good unit,” Kennedy said of the Zebras strong forward presence.
In a lowlight for Sandringham, St Kilda listed player Arryn Siposs was stretchered off the ground in what appeared to be a knee injury (later confirmed as a jarred knee).
The second half saw the Roosters gain more of the ball and showed the crowd that they were not going to give up easily. They began to get more run and carry due to Gavin Urquhart’s creativity from the backline.
Despite an even second half, the damage had been done, with the Zebras winning 16.12:108 to 7.11:53. Myles Sewell showed why he is one of the best VFL players by having over 20 disposals in the midfield. He also laid 6 tackles and was one of the best for the Roosters.
The Zebras had all the play in the first half and it showed on the scoreboard by having a comfortable lead at the main break. In the second half, it was all in spurts of play from both teams, which saw the margin jump up and down between 40 and 60 points. The Zebras looked the stronger team all day and it showed on the scoreboard.
North Ballarat will face Collingwood at Victoria Park in the ABC game on Saturday and Sandringham will face Coburg at Trevor Barker Beach Oval on Easter Sunday.
* Photo by Dale Westover
Last Modified on 03/04/2012 15:39