Cranbourne cracks Keysborough

HALF a game will not win any premiership points in the Casey Cardinia League this season.
That point was made plain by Cranbourne’s persistence to overrun Keysborough after half-time at Casey Fields on Saturday to chalk up win number two for the season on the weekend.
The Burra went down by 33 points and is only a shadow of the side that stormed into last year’s grand final. How coach Greg Siwes can arrest the slide is anybody’s guess after the weekend result.
Siwes could see the writing on the wall as early as the first term on Saturday and berated his players at both quarter-time and half-time despite the Burra holding a slender lead at both changes.
On the other hand, it was business as usual at the Cranbourne huddle, with coach Doug Koop going over game plans and tactics without panic and in a calm and methodical manner.
In the end his side won the game in exactly the same way, booting nine goals to three in the second half but breaking the visitors back with withering eight-goal third term.
While William Gayfer kept a close watch on Cranbourne spearhead Marc Holt, it was left to the Eagles support players led by Brad Coller and Ray George to create attacking moves, and both rose to the occasion superbly after the long break.
The home side worked its way on top at the stoppages with Stuart Morrish and makeshift ruckman Andre Young competing well and giving Callum Lester, Jarrod Murphy and Luke Martin first use of the ball.
The Burra was shattered at three-quarter time, both physically and mentally, with first half stars Clinton King and Warrick Hanks off the ground injured and recruits including David Roberts, Ryan Goodes, Andrew Ferguson and Davor Rajic feeling the effects of playing on the wide expanses of the Casey Fields arena.
The game petered out in the final term, mainly due to Cranbourne’s inaccuracy, but the result left the two camps looking at vastly different scenarios for 2009.
Siwes was thrilled with the job Gayfer did to keep Holt to only one goal, booted very late in the game, but had no answers to the Eagles’ more mobile forwards in George, Coller and Curtis Barker who finished with three goals apiece.
Regular forward Matthew Freeman spent most of the game in an on-ball role and the Burra struggled for consistency in attack with key goal kicker Tyson King well marked by Eagle stopper Daniel Watson.
Koop was pragmatic after the game, given it was only his team’s second hit-out for the season, however he acknowledged that there were some good signs, especially in the areas of player accountability and pressure.
“I thought our delivery was poor into our forwards in the first half and theirs was pretty good. We could have been closer at half time but we also could have been further behind too and there was ground to make up,” he said.
“Our midfielders stepped up a notch in the third quarter and won some really good footy out of the centre. We were far more direct into attack and finished off really well.
“We went back to blazing in the last quarter and that was a bit disappointing because I really think we could have had a big win, but the bonus is that we don’t have to rely on Holty kicking all our goals now. Everyone is capable of making a contribution. That’s something we have worked on and it was good to see players stand up when they had to.”