It only took one week for South Gambier to return to winning ways and it did so with a leg in the air at Blue Lake Sports Park on Saturday.
In Dion Stratford’s 200th game, the Demons put on a clinic with the milestone man playing a part in limiting West Gambier to just nine behinds for the entire game.
Following the shock loss to Millicent last week, South Gambier coach Brayden Kain said it was a relief to sing the song again after a returning to form.
“It was extremely disappointing last week to lose in the fashion that we did,” he said.
“We noticed a bit of a flat spot during the week and did not show much effort, so the intensity was not there.
“This week we emphasized to go back to the basics and bring the intensity back around the contest and the group responded in the best fashion possible.” Some South players may have had a case of d u when they were greeted with more rain when opening the curtains and play was stagnant early.
A total of just three scoring shots were possible in the first term as congested contests were the order of the day.
After the first-quarter stalemate in the mud, the Demons bolted and snatched the ascendancy with five straight goals.
The run was kickstarted by Charlie Fisher, who impressed on A Grade debut replacing Jack Casey with two goals and looked composed during set shots.
South suddenly opened 28-point lead, but scoring slowed once again in the third term with Kain the only man to find the big sticks after a silky pickup.
The playing coach went on to score three majors as his side broke the 50-point barrier just before the final siren, while restricting the Roos to single figures.
Kain said the secrets to the formidable win were patience and a strong performance from the back six led by Stratford and Patrick Glynn.
“We just had to be patient because the game was always going to open up after the first quarter, so we stuck to the structure,” he said.
“We put in place what we were working on during the week with some hardball stuff and low, close-to-the- ground efforts around the contest.
“The back six were tremendous, standing strong and allowed the other half of the ground to tick over.
“Dion still has a bit of speed in his legs for an older fella and stayed on his feet which came into play steading the ship.
“With the conditions we moved Patrick from full back to centre half back and he was unstoppable taking a truckload of marks.
“They put us in a strong position to move forward and attack the goal face.” On a largely forgetful day for the visitors Jesse Pfitzner and Tom Holmes scrapped hard, but did not get much reward for their efforts.
With the July bye ahead both the Demons and West will take a much-needed rest to recuperate ahead of the finale to the minor-round season.
The young Roos hope to rebound, while South could be further bolstered by the returns of Casey, Brodie Foster and Bronson Saffin.
