Sunday 20 April 2008

Southport surged a game clear in second place and dropped Labrador to second last  with a comprehensive 11-goal victory in the final game of Round 4 at Cooke-Murphy Oval today.

The contest was tight for the first 45 minutes, before the Sharks assumed total control and ran out 16.15 (111)-6.9 (55).

It was an impressive team effort, so complete in fact, that Sharks boss Craig Crowley felt it was the best all round effort in his two and half years in charge.

'It was the best team performance in terms of pressure, chasing, and the basic fundamentals," Crowley said.

The obvious challenger to Mt Gravatt for this year's Velocity Sports Cup, Crowley added the Sharks would get better.

"We missed a lot of targets and shots on goal," he said.

The players could be forgiven for the latter, given the strong cross wind that swept the ground, making it particularly difficult taking set shots at the southern end in particular.

There was one player on the ground who used the ball superbly and that was best afield Mark Lynch.

The diminutive defender - the smallest man on the ground - he appeared to be a loose man in defence for much of the game, such was his ability to get the ball and deliver it effectively to a teammate downfield.

While Lynch was a standout, he had numerous teammates who weren't far behind.

Brett Sinclair had the first three shots on goal of the match, booting 1.2 into the wind, before finding his range with three of the Sharks' five goals in the second quarter.

Sinclair's marking, as always, was a feature, but he worked closer to goal and was rewarded with 5.3 for the day.

It took Labrador 19 minutes to score despite kicking with the wind in the opening term as the Sharks dominated through Lynch, Fraser Pope and David James.

Trent Knobel was on fire early for the Tigers and kept his side in the match, dominating the ruck and kicking the first goal.

Broc MacAuley gradually matched him as the game wore on and both wound up being good players for their respective sides.

The Tigers opted to have two men back in defence at times when kicking into the breeze and that, coupled with the intensity at the ball of Ben Fixter and Josh Woods, saw a goalless opening half of the second term.

Against the run of play, Justin Kahlefeldt snaffled an opportunist's goal after some superb lead-up work by Sinclair and the Sharks let rip.

They added three majors in two minutes, with Sinclair involved in each, and went in to halftime with a handy 26-point lead, which would have been more but for a fortuitous Korey Fulton snap one second before the siren.

Fulton struggled against the strong bodywork of full-back Kurt Niklaus and Corey Munson was tried out of the goalsquare after halftime, providing his side with a lift.

Labrador looked to have unearthed a gem in 17-year-old debutant Curtis Allan, only to see him leave the ground minutes into the third term with a bad shoulder injury.

Resembling a young Geoff Raines with the flowing black hair in the gold and black, Allan won plenty of ball and used it intelligently before the untimely injury.

Nathan Gurcuillo tried hard to lift his side in the third term, but a quality shot at goal into the wind from 45m by Ben McEntee against the run of play inspired a quick change in momentum.

Glenn Screech blitzed at half-forward and the Sharks' lead was extended to seven goals before Munson and Gurcuillo helped the Tigers back to within 31 points at the last change.

The fourth term was another grind for 15 minutes, before the Sharks blasted six goals to nil in the last half of the quarter.

Kevin Tandogac was outstanding in defence for the Sharks and was just as intense with his attack on the ball at the finish as he was at the start.

David James was outstanding on one wing, Danny Wise and Darren O'Brien were in control in the midfield, and Kapun Morris complemented Lynch with his defensive dash.

Labrador's best was clearly rangy forward Justin Maddern, who worked hard up and down the ground throughout the game.

Woods and Fixter tried hard, as did Knobel, who broke his nose badly in a collision in the dying seconds.

"No, I didn't think we'd win by that much," Crowley said, adding the Tigers would still be "gelling" with an influx of recruits into the club.

Labrador assistant coach Brad Firman said the Tigers were disappointed with their intensity level, something that had dipped since their opening round flogging of Redland.

They went into the game without important midfielder-forward Matt Clarke, whose hamstring injury is expected to keep him out of next week's tough assignment against Mt Gravatt at the same venue.