Gunnedah and District AFC recorded their third 100 point-plus win at Wolseley Oval on Saturday, hammering the Inverell Saints 22.18-150 to 5.6-36 to cement second spot on the AFL North West ladder.
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The wet weather didn’t dampen the Bulldogs’ display, their clinical skill in trying conditions enabling them to cruise to victory.
Matt Pengilly was best on ground for the home side, extracting the footy at ground level on countless occasions. His tackling pressure in the forward half of the ground was also a highlight.
10 different goal scorers accumulated the massive win, coach Greg Piggott leading with five.
He was ably supported by full forward Mitchell Swain with four, whilst rotating midfielder Jake Spackman and second gamer Shane Paul, in the forward pocket, kicked three each.
Piggott highlighted the team brand of footy his side played as the key difference between the two sides.
“It was a good four quarter effort, our run and spread was great all game,” Piggott said.
He was also full of praise for backman Danny Johnstone, who kicked his first goal for the club, and Al Hillard, who was the lone ruckman for the entire match.
“Danny did a great job on Gould, he’s a dangerous player but he gave him no room which was massive for us. And Badge (Hillard) rucking all day in the wet was a big effort,” he said.
The Dogs dominated the first quarter, where Hillard’s tap work out of the centre ball continually had his side on the front foot going inside forward 50.
Piggott and Swain kicked two apiece on the back of the work done in the centre as the home side went into the break up by 17.
Taking advantage of the downhill run in the second quarter, the Dogs used their run and spread on the outside to burn their opposing defenders. Swain and Piggott bagged a goal each, whilst Paul kicked his first major for the club, with Spackman and Ben Maher also landing majors as they kicked out to a 44 point lead.
Any hopes the Saints had of clawing their way back into the match were dominantly squashed by the home side, with the Dogs through their backline continually repelling any Saints attacking raids. The home side didn’t concede a point in the third quarter and only allowed one goal in the second half, spoiling three behinds from shots at goal.
“Our back six were great and it was a big effort against a side that can rack up a fair score,” Piggott said.
Michael Leven in his debut game for the club had a blinder on the wing, his speed in and out of contests proving a welcome attribute.
