Australian Football

Match Report

Next up in game four of the pre-Easter football festivities, its time to head up to the X-Convenience Oval in Elizabeth for the Northern Derby between the Bulldogs and the Roosters. The red and whites had it all over the Dogs in their 2022 encounters, with a 43-point win at Prospect in Round 3 and then a 38-point win at the Ponderosa in Round 12. On both occasions, the Roosters had one bad quarter. The earlier match saw this happen in the opening term when the Dogs kicked to a 20-point lead before kicking back, whereas in the latter game they went to sleep in the second term. But of course, in both games the Roosters ran away comfortable victors. The Bulldogs' third quarter let them down against the Panthers down at Noarlunga last week, while the Roosters did it the hard way in front of goal in their victory against the Bloods. The Bulldogs bolted out of the blocks early as they rammed through five unanswered goals in the opening term and would lead by as much at quarter-time, they also had three behinds on the board as did the Roosters. Not the start that the red & whites envisioned, no doubt. But from there, the goals for the Doggies slowed to a trickle much to the dismay of the home faithful and the inaccuracy bug was settled in for the long haul. The Centrals' defence though, as well as the Roosters' out-of-character ill-discipline would keep the home team well in control. Both sides gave away 24 free kicks each, but those that North were giving away were making their coach see red. The Dogs added a further two points to their first change advantage by the long break, scoring 1.4 to 1.2 to take the gap to 32 points at half-time. The Bulldogs' third quarter was better in regards to the big sticks, putting through 3.2 to the Roosters' two goals to take their advantage out to 40 points at the final change. One thing is for sure, the Centrals training sessions this week will no doubt be placing an emphasis on their shooting for goal. The goals dried up after the last break for the Dogs, the Roosters put all they had left into the final term but could only cut the eventual losing margin back to 27 points after outscoring the home side 2.5 to four behinds. Justin Hoskin was best for Centrals, with 27 disposals, six tackles and winning six free kicks. Frank Szekely was North's standout, with 22 disposals, six tackles and five marks.