Gunnedah commemorated their 40th anniversary with another dynamic performance on Saturday.
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With the names of best 22 players to have donned the blue, red and white emblazoned across the back of their jumpers, and with many of them watching on, the Bulldogs dispatched the Moree Suns 29.21-195 to 3.2-20.
On what was such a special day for the club, Bulldogs coach Greg Piggott said it was great to get the result.
“We had a lot of people back to the club today who have played over the last 40 years, and we got a really good crowd so it was good to get a win in front of the boys,” Piggott said.
It was a dominant display at the both ends of the field from the Bulldogs, albeit a bit scrappy at times.
“But we still stuck to our structures and ended up with a fairly competitive score, good high score,” he said.
He kicked five for the game, Mark Ewington six and Mitchell Swain four.
The Bulldogs laid a marker from the first bounce with Al Hillard winning the tip-off and sending the home side immediately onto the attack.
From there they were stationed pretty well in their half, but some early nerves led to a few fumbles up front and wayward shots.
Swain eventually settled things with the first of seven majors for the first quarter.
As the rain started, Piggott snapped two quick goals early in the second as the Bulldogs continued to smother the Suns, and kicked out to a 77 point lead at the main break.
“They were playing a couple of guys behind the football, which left us with a couple of guys behind the football so it allowed us to hold the ball in our forward half and keep bringing it through the forward 50,” he said.
In contrast entries into their forward 50 were rare for the visitors, the defence having to work overtime to thwart the Bulldogs’ onslaught.
Hillard in the ruck was central to that.
“He gave us first use of the ball in the middle, and when you get first use the forwards get first look at the ball so I thought he did an amazing job,” Piggott said.
He was also again impressed by teenager Ben Maher. After just shading the left post as the half-time hooter sounded, the 17-year old booted three goals in the third quarter to lift the home side to a 121-point lead heading into the final term.
A strength for them throughout the season, Piggott thought their run and spread was pretty good at times. He was also pleased with their ability to short kick into the 50 and work their way around loose players.
Suns coach Angus Croft said it was a “pretty good effort” from his side, many of whom are still learning the game.
“There’s a lot of talent there, but they don’t understand the game,” he said.
He highlighted the contested ball as one of the areas the Bulldogs really hurt them.
“Gunnedah won the footy out of the middle 90 per cent of the time and their forward entries were pretty good,” Croft said.
Jay Worley, Adrian Smith and Jason Saunders kicked the Suns’ three goals, Smith’s coming from a breakout and showing a glimpse of what they are capable of.
At the other end, Brendan Gallagher at fullback was “always in the contest” and foiled several Bulldogs attacking raids.
Croft also made mention of Zac Sampson.
“We gave him the job of tagging (Jake) Spackman,” he said.
The Bulldogs’ best player in their view, he did a pretty good job on him, he said. He kept him goalless and ruffled him to the point where both had a stint in the bin, which in Croft’s book was a small win.
He thought the third quarter was their best.
“When it started raining I think it actually suited us a bit more,” he said.
“We have a lot of speed in our team and the ball being on the ground helped us.”
It is at this stage for the Suns really about improving, and Croft felt their defensive pressure was better than it has been.
“I know the scoreline was quite high but the defensive pressure was quite good,” he said.
“The boys were going for the football.”