For all the talk of an even competition, the Northern Jets were given a reality check at Ardlethan on Saturday.
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The home side was blown off the park by an impressive East Wagga-Kooringal, 16.9 (105) to 7.5 (47), in a reminder of the difference between a top two side and a potential finals contender.
It was a let down for the Jets, bringing back memories of being demolished by the Hawks at Robertson Oval late last year and co-coach Darren Jackson wasn’t pulling his punches.
“We were terrible today, I don’t know why,” Jackson said.
“Our biggest issue is when opposition sides get a run-on, the simple thing to do in footy is to man up and we don’t do it for some reason.”
In a game which showcased the Hawks’ depth and versatility, the Jets were outgunned from the start.
The visitors kicked three goals before the Jets were even off the mark, and were up by 38 points just 12 minutes into the second term.
Without spearhead Marc Geppert and James Hodges, who withdrew with an ankle injury, Billy Mearns made his presence felt with two first quarter goals.
“He’s been sensational, he’s moved here with the RAAF,” McMahon said.
“He came down and asked if he could have a run and it didn’t take long to say, ‘no worries’.”
Mearns and Chris Gordon proved a potent combination while Luke Cuthbert also chimed in.
By the five-minute mark of the second quarter all three had kicked two goals.
The Jets kicked the last three of the half to bring the margin back to 22 points but any hope of a comeback was blown away when Nathan Scott and Cuthbert kicked four goals between them early in the third quarter.
Nick Hull made his presence felt in the final term with three strong marks in five minutes. By the time he kicked his third goal of the quarter (and the game, after two first quarter behinds), the Jets were 64 points clear.
Jake Robinson was excellent as were the Scott midfielders, Nathan and Joe. And the return of Stu Brierty is another headache for rival teams to factor in as the Hawks produced one of their more consistent games.
“I thought that was a step forward,” McMahon said.
“It’s the story of our first five rounds – our best is pretty good but then we just switch off for a while – but there was probably a few more (better) patches today.”
For the Jets, it was no coincidence that their only goal of the first quarter came after Mitch Haddrill, Josh Plozza and Sam Fisher combined before Kimball finished off.
It was the first of three for the dangerous Kimball while Brad Moye also provided some spark.
But Chris Bell was the Jets’ best and played at both ends of the ground in a tireless performance trying to limit the damage.
