North Wagga set up a mouthwatering top-of-the-table clash with Marrar next Saturday with a 61-point victory over the Northern Jets at Ariah Park on Saturday.
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While it wasn’t the thrashing that Marrar handed out, the Saints’ 13.14 (92) to 5.1 (31) win confirmed their credentials as the other form team in the season’s opening six weeks.
But it wasn’t as straightforward as it looks.
After keeping the Jets to a goal in the first half, North Wagga found themselves challenged in the third quarter, when the Jets kicked four straight to close to within a couple of goals.
“They won the first six clearances of the quarter which was pretty disappointing,” North Wagga coach Kirk Hamblin said.
“But the way we reacted and were able to get momentum back our way, I was really pleased with.
“To weather the storm and then finish off strongly coming in to a massive game next week was good. I was really happy with our temperament in the last quarter.”
Full-forward Daniel Jordan swung back to stem the bleeding and Alex Grozinger (five goals) switched from centre-half-forward to full-forward.
While the Jets were then kept scoreless, North Wagga finished full of running, kicking 9.9 in the second half.
They say that Winter is coming but in North Wagga’s case, Cayden Winter was here six weeks ago to start making life miserable for opponents and doesn’t look like letting up any time soon. He again caused plenty of headaches up forward and through the midfield.
“I’d love to have two of him because he gets a lot of the ball down there as a small forward,” Hamblin said.
“He does in the middle too but when us resting mids go forward, we have nowhere near the impact he has down there.”
But the hard work done at the other end, where teenager Tariku Fitzgerald-Holmes had a big game in a defensive unit which helped set the Saints up.
“Our back six has been solid all year and one of our biggest strengths is being able to rebound off half-back,” Hamblin said.
“The way our backline was able to move the ball out, I was really happy with.”
Sam Fisher was the pick of the Jets, along with Jacob Bell. Alex Rogers was also among their best, and kicked two goals.
Mitch Haddrill kicked one and, after starting forward, also went through the middle in his return from a knee injury.