The Central Giants have held on late in the fourth quarter to defeat a gallant Southern Saints side by 8 points to claim their first victory in 2019.
Giants forward Steph Tabaillou was practicing his goal goal kicking during the warm up and found himself in the action early slotting the first goal of the game from a set shot.
He doubled his tally three minutes later when he soccered the ball through the middle to extend their lead to 14 points halfway through the first quarter.
Saints defender Nico Donnell-Brown was working hard and when he found himself in space, he linked with captain Michael Boyce who managed to bend his kick through the goals.
The Saints found themselves in front after young rising star Doug McJorrow showed his pace down the wing and connected with Zac Maio who kicked true.
Maio was also awarded a free kick right on the siren and kicked his second as the Saints went into the first break with an 8 point lead.
The Saints has their tails up at the start of the second and were applying the pressure early on but Giants defenders Nick Rhodes and Harison Manks were up to the task managing to quell the relentless attack.
Back to back goals from Sam Mckenzie and Tyson Schmid got the premiers back in front and when Steph Tabaillou has his third, the Giants started to look comfortable.
A late flurry of goals saw the Giants take a 4 goal lead into the main break.
Kicking with the wind in the third quarter, the Saints got themselves back in the game with goals to Alex Fakatoumafi, James Southby and Zac Maio .
Their defence was also working extra hard as they kept the Giants goalless for the entire third quarter and found themselves trailing by 5 points at three quarter time.
The Saints kicked the first goal of the final quarter through a great team goal where Finn Moffatt finished and the scores were level.
The ball was camped in the Giants forward line for the final 10 minutes before and the Saints were managing to to keep the Giants from converting until Captain Sam McKenzie marked inside his 50 with a few minutes left on the clock and kicked a goal to steal it from the hands of the Saints.
The hero:
Tyson Schmid seized the opportunity to get the Giants back in the game in the second quarter. The midfielder kicked 2 crucial goals and had multiple disposals throughout the match.
The support cast:
Nick Rhodes and Harison Manks were a rock in defence for the majority of the game. The pair both know their roles and work in tandem to stop any incoming traffic.
If it wasn’t for these two players, it could have been a different result.
The consolation effort:
Saints captain Michael Boyce was phenomenal all game. Boyce played up the field against the Giants and was involved in a number of contests and managed a goal in the process.
Say what?
“We really wanted to come out and improve from last week’s loss and try to finish off the quarters strong, which we did. The Saints made it tough for us this week and they will definitely get better and be contenders this season.” Giants Captain Sam McKenzie.
“All things considered, I thought the Giants deserved their victory today. We played very well today but we still have plenty to work on and we will make those improvements.” Southern Saints Assistant Coach Craig Goodhue.
Goal Scorers:
Central Giants: Sam McKenzie 3, Steph Tabaillou 3, Tyson Schmid 2, Seb Serrano 1, Elliot Bennetts 1
Southern Saints: Zac Maio 3, Alex Fakatoumafi 2, Finn Moffatt 2, James Southby 1, Michael Boyce 1.
Best on ground:
Central Giants: Tyson Schmid
Southern Saints: James Southby
