Above: Catani 14yearold prospect Russell Lehman made his debut for the senior team on the weekend, booting two goals and making a big impression.By Ken Moore
DUAL premier Catani provided further evidence that it has the ability to play a big part at the business end of this season with a convincing 57point home victory over Lang Lang.
The Blues opened well with a goal by John Entwisle before tight defence by both sides dried up scoring until midway through the term. It was Catani that broke the deadlock and took command in the middle to later stages of the quarter.
Fourteenyearold debutant Russell Lehman led the way with two consecutive majors, the first from an angle in heavy traffic and the second an opportunist goal after reading the ball well off a pack. With strong drive out of defence from Chris MacLean and good contributions from ruckman Luke Tymensen and bustling forward Shane Warren, the Blues extended their lead with goals by Entwisle, Paul Alger and Ben Maroney to open up a 38point lead at the first change. Lang Lang disappointed and struggled to move the ball cleanly for more than two or three possessions in the first quarter.
The second quarter began in a similar vein with a second major by Alger before Lang Lang opened its account when speedy centreman Adam Baxter worked forward to slot through the Tigers’ first major.
But for the rest of the term the Tigers’ resistance disappeared, the Blues’ midfield dominated and the quarter turned into the John Entwisle show. On the end of some good delivery, the nuggetty Blue forward popped through four goals in a wonderful display. A feature of his game was his clever judgment and good bodywork. A late goal by Jake Dwyer was the only light for Lang Lang, which fell away badly and went into the main break 76 points in arrears.
In the first half, Kurt Batt was the only Tiger player to consistently make his presence felt, captaincoach Troy Datsun did a good job to quell Catani playmaker Josh Tymensen and Baxter and ruckman Adrian Slater battled hard. Until halftime Catani had winners all over the field and Luke McFarlane, Aaron Alger, Maroney and MacLean were all prime movers.
The visitors’ hopes for a respectable showing lifted early in the third quarter when Slater kicked the first two goals of the second half. However, these were cancelled out by goals by Entwisle, his seventh, and Owen Fitzpatrick. Goals in timeon by Tiger Daniel Barwick, and Entwistle again, split evenly honours for the quarter. Lang Lang held its own in the third term due to more accountable defence led by Nathan Jagoe, Stuart and Sean Casey and more run through the midfield by Batt in the ruck and Alex Sarakin.
Catani started the last quarter with a goal inside 60 seconds by MacLean but Lang Lang replied with Slater’s third, followed by two by Marcus Loughran to finish full of running. The Tigers outscored the Blues in the last quarter but still went down by 57 points. With the exception of Batt, Lang Lang had too many players that drifted in and out of the game.
Defenders Datsun, Jagoe and Stuart Casey provided plenty of resistance and change ruckman Slater impressed and doubled as a strong goalkicking option. Sarakin and Corey Dowson were busy in the midfield; youngsters Jake Dwyer and Barwick showed much promise in patches. On the plus side for Lang Lang, it had a red hot go after halftime and played with far more vigour and purpose. Credit must go to the Tigers for refusing to throw in the towel when at the main break they looked to be in for at least a 20goal flogging.
It was a workmanlike performance by Catani, which was minus midfielders Andrew and Michael Stockx, Paul Whiffin and Troy Wilson. The Blues won the game in the first half thanks to their halfback line of MacLean, Aaron Alger and Maroney, who were all outstanding and regularly streamed out of defence to set up play for its forwards.
Luke McFarlane and Paul Alger won a stack of possessions in and around the midfield and Glen Hall provided stout resistance in defence. Entwisle was clearly the best forward on the ground, had too many footy smarts for the Tiger defence and made the most of his opportunities with accurate conversion that yielded eight goals.
Many punters have dismissed Catani’s chances for a third premiership but, based on their early form, the Blues still have a lot to offer and will be more than a match for most comers.
