Buffaloes’ Trav Willetts and Tigers’ Nick Aberline at a contest. – Picture: BRENT CLARK
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LAKE Nash Young Guns welcomed back superstar Jameson Billy in style as his side scored its first victory of the season against Rovers.
Billy kicked six out of the Young Guns’ 17 goals, including four into a stiff breeze in the opening quarter.
Young Guns fought back from a disappointing last-round defeat to defeat Rovers by an emphatic 74 points, with the final score reading 17.19 (121) to 7.5 (47).
The 2014 Mount Isa AFL runners-up were in first gear from the first bounce, scoring five goals in the first quarter in comparison to a couple of six-pointers from Rovers.
But Young Guns did most of their damage in the next quarter, keeping Rovers scoreless going into half-time, up 69-12.
Rovers were able to slow the goal-scoring rate of their opponents in the third quarter by kicking five goals in reply to Young Guns’ two goals.
In the fourth quarter, the team from Lake Nash replicated its performances from the first two quarters, kicking an additional five goals while Rovers were only worthy of two behinds to end their first real game of the new season.
Lake Nash coach Rohan Webb was pleased with the response of his team after barely competing against Tigers in round 1.
“It was a bit different to round 1,” Webb said.
“We talked a lot about our mistakes from the first game, and today they came right for us.”
Two weeks ago Young Guns were outclassed in a number of key areas that were addressed in training this week, according to Webb.
“Some of the boys were a bit too rusty for the first game. We weren’t marking man-to-man and moving around. There wasn’t much talk. We also missed out under pressure. But we had a talk and things are looking better,” Webb said.
Webb heaped praise on his players and in particular Anthony Teague, Calvin Hockley, Adrian Williams, and Billy.
“It’s hard to pick because there were too many good players, but these were the blokes that I saw,” he said.
In the earlier game, Tigers claimed their second win of the season defeating Buffaloes 5.15(45) to 4.8 (32) in a low-scoring affair.
In a tight contest, both sides found it difficult to score in windy conditions.
Tigers were led by Theon Raffaldi, who showed his versatility in a number of roles.
Buffaloes midfielder Matt Sondergold was one of his side’s better players in the centre.
Late in the first quarter, Mount Isa AFL president and Buffs player Paul White suffered a broken leg that put a stop to the game for a long period of time.
LADDER
Tigers 8
Young Guns 4
Buffs 4
Rovers 0
