Photo: Stephen Crowden
It was a tough day at the office for the Tasmania Devils in round four of the NAB League Boys, as they suffered a 72-point loss to the Sandringham Dragons at RSEA Park. A third-quarter surge showed what the Devils could do, but they were unable to contain the Dragons through the rest of the game.
TASMANIA DEVILS: 1.2 3.4 8.4 10.8 (68)
SANDRINGHAM DRAGONS: 7.4 11.9 13.14 21.14 (140)
Best players: Liam Jones, Colby McKercher, Lachie Cowan, Josh Gillow, Will Splann, Seth Campbell
Goals: Will Splann 3, Brandon Leary 3, Seth Campbell 1, Sam Banks-Smith 1, Heath Ollington 1, Bryce Alomes 1
Will Splann led the charge in that third term, booting three goals to continue his hot start to the season, while Brandon Leary impressed with three majors of his own. Around the ground, Lachie Cowan (27 disposals, 10 rebound 50s) was prolific across the half-back line, with Colby McKercher (23 disposals, five tackles) and Liam Jones (18 disposals, seven inside 50s) both battled hard around the contest.
Sandringham raced out of the gates on their home deck, piling on the first three goals inside ten minutes and racking up scoring shots. The Devils were able to respond when Leary kicked his first against the run of play, but another four goals straight from the Dragons saw them continue to pull away to lead by 38 points at quarter time.
With their backs up against the wall immediately, the Devils did manage to steady the ship a little early in the second term. They stemmed the tide defensively, and Seth Campbell chipped into the deficit with the first goal of the quarter. The two sides traded goals through the middle of the quarter, with Tasmanian co-captain Sam Banks-Smith hitting the scoreboard, but the Dragons again finished with a flourish and added three more goals in the dying minutes of the half to extend their lead to 53 points.
Despite facing that big deficit, the Devils showed their grit and made all of the running in the third term. They won the quarter on the scoreboard, kicking five goals to two led by three from Splann. Bryce Alomes and Heath Ollington also kicked one goal apiece, while Tom Beaumont presented well from the half-forward line pushing into the midfield. Their efforts saw the margin pulled back to 40 points at the last change.
Tasmania’s coaches shuffled the magnets in an effort to build on that momentum, with Cowan thrown into the midfield mix. He battled well and finished with three clearances, but the Dragons found their feet once again and continued to surge forward. They piled on eight goals in the final frame, and while Leary fired back with two goals of his own that wasn’t enough to stop Sandringham from claiming a 72-point victory.
The Devils will look to bounce back in round five when they take on the Northern Territory Thunder at Highgate Recreation Reserve on Sunday.