A stunning 12 goal to nil final quarter from the Nor-West Jets buried a tenacious Gosford team and sets up a mouth watering clash with 4th placed Pennant Hills at Bensons Lane this Saturday.
The Jets were without midfielders Ryan and Brent Johnston, but welcomed back Jake Berry & Doug Linnett to the fold after a year away from football, and in windy conditions in West Gosford, it was the home team who took the early initiative, with the Wildcats leading the Jets around the field as they peppered their forward 50 with alarming regularity. Nor-West’s back 6 held strong however, well led by Daniel Guthridge in another solid performance, with great support from rookie speedster Alex Lorenzelli. Key midfielder Josh Patterson was driven into the turf wicket and was a huge loss to the team, but a late Nor-West goal saw Gosford take a 12 point margin to the first break.
The Jets took full advantage of the wind in the second quarter to add 4 goals to the Wildcats’ 1 goal, with Owen Butcher and Ethon Coombs standing tall and winning the lion’s share of the ball from the middle of the ground, while Berry blanketed the dangerous Tim Eather. It was a 7 point game at half time, and the Jets were down to just two fit players on the bench as Ben Jennison suffered a game ending ankle injury in a huge collision with one of Gosford’s top heavy players.
The run and carry game was employed by the Jets as the wind favoured the Highway end, and the home side were proving tough to break. Zack Coombs and Josh Edwards used their pace to advantage, and Mick Gray turned in one of his best games across half forward, as the last break saw a 16 point margin. A quick rev up from the coaching staff had the desired effect, as the Jets toyed with their opponents in the final term, with the ball permanently camped in the Nor-West forward 50, and the backline miserly against the Wildcats, conceding only 7 second half points with Peter Martinoli and Dave Clinch prominent, Clinch also carrying the ball through the centre for two massive goals. Linnett was unstoppable in the forward pocket with 4 last quarter goals, and the Jets ran away with the game to record an important 92 point victory, 19.12-126 to 5.4-34.
Goal Kickers: P. Kyle 5, D. Linnett 4, M. Gray 3, K. Clarke 2, D. Clinch 2, O. Butcher , J. Charlton Brennan , J. Berry
Best Players: , O. Butcher , J. Berry , D. Guthridge , D. Linnett , E. Coombs , A. Lorenzelli
| # | Player | G | BST |
|---|
| 2 |
Peter Kyle
|
5 |
0 |
| 99 |
Doug Linnett
|
4 |
4 |
| 17 |
Michael Gray
|
3 |
0 |
| 44 |
Kyle Clarke
|
2 |
0 |
| 15 |
David Clinch
|
2 |
0 |
| 40 |
Jacob Berry
|
1 |
2 |
| 70 |
Owen Butcher
|
1 |
1 |
| 62 |
Jye Charlton Brennan
|
1 |
0 |
| 66 |
Alex Lorenzelli
|
0 |
6 |
| 8 |
Ethon Coombs
|
0 |
5 |
| 10 |
Daniel Guthridge
|
0 |
3 |
| 64 |
Bradley Burn
|
0 |
0 |
| 39 |
Joshua Edwards
|
0 |
0 |
| 28 |
Peter Martinoli
|
0 |
0 |
| 55 |
Benjamin Jennison
|
0 |
0 |
| 23 |
Louis Butler
|
0 |
0 |
| 42 |
Dylan Cruz
|
0 |
0 |
| 26 |
Joshua Patterson
|
0 |
0 |
| 18 |
Troy Clent
|
0 |
0 |
| 74 |
Zane Priest
|
0 |
0 |
| 56 |
Zackary Coombs
|
0 |
0 |
| 47 |
Matthew Schwager
|
0 |
0 |
It was a top of the table clash in Division 5, as Nor-West headed up Castlereagh Rd to face bitter rivals Penrith at Cranebrook, and a win would ensure the Minor Premiership for the Jets, and first week off in finals. The game started off in the usual brutal fashion of a local derby, as Penrith tried to intimidate the younger Jets, but Nor-West moved the ball well early and set up dominant forward Paul Webster, who was given plenty of attention by multiple opponents. Daniel Langford and Liam Veigel produced some excellent passages, the latter facing many of his old team mates at the Rams, while Dale Wellington and Sunday Achiek had few issues in the ruck, such was their dominance. 4 goals to 2 against the Rams in the first set the Jets up well, and they took it to another level in the second quarter, 5 goals to Nor-West but the Rams kept coming, adding 3 of their own to keep in touch, 25 points at the main break.
Nick Bradshaw was doing well to contain the Rams’ spear head Kevin Kirk, and had great support from James McCumiskey playing loose across half back. Things were heating up and it was the Rams who felt the pinch, as they lost a player with a red card for umpire abuse, however the Jets failed to capitalise on having an extra man for 15 minutes of play, but still added 3 goals to 1 to extend their lead to 35, Musa Bakan working well at ground level to pick up 3 great goals. The last quarter was a grind, young guns Seb Goldrick and Harry Stever combining well from the backline to limit the damage, 2 Penrith goals late in the quarter added some respectability to the score line but a late snap to Leigh Sharpe saw the Jets take the points and the 2014 Division 5 Minor Premiership with a hard fought 29 point victory, 13.4-82 to 8.5-53.
Goal Kickers: P. Webster 5, M. Bakan 3, L. Sharpe 2, S. Tibben 2, O. Hickman
Best Players: , D. Wellington , J. McCumiskey , P. Webster , L. Veigel , N. Bradshaw , M. Bakan
| # | Player | G | BST |
|---|
| 24 |
Paul Webster
|
5 |
3 |
| 63 |
Musa Bakan
|
3 |
6 |
| 9 |
Stuart Tibben
|
2 |
0 |
| 20 |
Leigh Sharpe
|
2 |
0 |
| 51 |
Owen Hickman
|
1 |
0 |
| 37 |
Nicholas Bradshaw
|
0 |
5 |
| 34 |
Liam Veigel
|
0 |
4 |
| 50 |
James Mccumiskey
|
0 |
2 |
| 78 |
Dale Wellington
|
0 |
1 |
| 1 |
Stephen Chase
|
0 |
0 |
| 22 |
Jesse Pinder
|
0 |
0 |
| 73 |
Ajang Duot
|
0 |
0 |
| 33 |
Michael Morgan
|
0 |
0 |
| 31 |
Jack Bennett
|
0 |
0 |
| 3 |
Peter Richardson
|
0 |
0 |
| 49 |
Blake Heggie
|
0 |
0 |
| 76 |
Richard Boucher
|
0 |
0 |
| 48 |
Daniel Harding
|
0 |
0 |
| 46 |
Daniel Langford
|
0 |
0 |
| 16 |
Seb Goldrick
|
0 |
0 |
| 4 |
Harry Stever
|
0 |
0 |
| 57 |
Joshua Miller
|
0 |
0 |
The Jets hold their annual Back to Bensons Day this week for past players and supporters, with Division 3 facing Pennant Hills in a battle between 3rd and 4th place, while Division 5 play their last home and away game before finals, hosting UTS Bats with play starting at midday.
Last Modified on 04/08/2014 08:42
