AUSSIE RULES –
Saturday, June 19, brought three out of three wins for Central Coast teams in Round Nine of the Men’s Black Diamond Cup for Killarney Vale Bombers, Terrigal-Avoca Panthers and Gosford Tigers.
For Killarney, an away win, 47 – 67, against the Cardiff Hawks at Pasterfield Sports Complex has ended their three game losing streak and re-acquainted them with a third place sitting.
Meanwhile at Adcock Park, Gosford overcame their visitors, Warners Bay, 74 – 41, and Terrigal-Avoca played unrivalled against Singleton in their away win, 5 – 110.
The strength and direction of the afternoon’s wind at Pasterfield played a pivotal role in this match, with Killarney’s accurate boot proving the difference.
Playing into the wind in the first quarter, the Bombers were able to get away to a strong early lead with seven unanswered goals, before the Hawks hit back in the next quarter with three of their own.
The second half brought a tighter contest on the ball in both quarters with an equal amount of scoring going each way.
In the end, the early goals proved the difference for a final score of 6.11-47 – 10.7-67.
For Killarney Head Coach, Corey Shackleton, the win came as relief after having faced three defeats in a row.
“There was pressure on us going in so we really wanted to get back on the winners’ list,” he said.
“We really capitalised early with that seven goal first quarter, that was probably what got us over the line.
“When we had the wind we made the most of our opportunities so that definitely took the pressure off us and onto them.”
Now, Killarney Vale sit back in third place behind Terrigal-Avoca and Newcastle City in first and second.
Warners Bay’s upset loss away against Gosford has seen them fall down to fourth place, behind Killarney on goal difference, with the Tigers shooting up into fifth in turn.
In this match, it was the higher number of opportunities made by Gosford that ensured their comfortable end win over the team who beat Killarney in Round Seven.
In the eyes of Gosford Head Coach, Cori Hopper, the result has marked the capability of his young team in going after the top spots in the Cup.
“It was an incredible win for the boys on the weekend,” he said.
“It wasn’t one that was entirely unexpected within our group, but certainly some of our more recent form probably didn’t point to us beating a top three team.
“We worked really hard during the week to get this particular result, and we were pretty confident that we could do it because we had a few key players come back into our side.
“We’ve sort of been nursing our way through quite a few injuries in the weeks leading up to this one, and we had the unusual event of two byes in a row, so we ended up getting two weeks rest, which was really good, especially for a few of our more experienced players.
“By design, I gave the players a good rest in this two week period.
“I challenged them to think about what we want to achieve going into the second half of the season and how much we want to tap into the real potential that this young side has at the moment.
“All the boys came back and everybody was right there and were very present on the day and I think they played four of the best quarters, one of the best four quarter efforts this group has pulled together, certainly in the last two seasons since I’ve been involved.”
A third and final win came for Terrigal-Avoca in their 0.5-5 – 16.14-110 comeuppance over Singleton, reaffirming their status as league leaders.
Nonetheless, Newcastle are hot on their heels, with both Killarney and Warners Bay working to solidify third place.
Now preparing for two home games against Nelsons Bay and Maitland, Killarney are in a firm position to secure two more wins before facing Warners Bay again, this time away, on Saturday, July 10.
Coach Shackleton views this upcoming fixture as the potential decider for a podium placement heading into the finals.
“Against Nelsons Bay and Maitland, they’re both games that we need to win to secure the third spot, then travelling away to Warners Bay could be the game to define who can lock up third spot for good.”
CCC