The Southern Saints have locked in a place in the 2020 Grand Final after another convincing win the AFL New Zealand Premiership where they defeated the Northern Suns by 51 points at North Harbour Stadium.
The Saints had a strong opening first quarter kicking 6 goals to 2. Saints full forward Harley Jenkins was accurate early on as he kicked the opening 3 goals of the game.
The Suns put more pressure on the ladder leaders in the second term as Dave Abetz and Will Dickinson were combining well in the middle of the ground while Tom Hayhoe and Paul Hogan were holding down the fort in defence.
Development player Luke Lentner played in the ruck for the Saints and was superb all game winning a number of hit outs and kicking 2 goals.
An even third quarter gave the Suns some hope as they continued to link well through the middle of the ground but the class and experience of the Saints shone through as they finished the game strong kicking 6 goals in the final quarter.
Saints defender Andrew Bisset was once again showing why he is one of the best players in the competition having a big game down back.
The 51 point means that they claim the 2020 minor premiership as their unbeaten run extends to 6 wins in a row.
The hero:
Josh Robles was the star of the show in the middle of the ground. The small midfielder was everywhere around the contest as he produced a lot of go forward ball.
The support cast:
Harley Jenkins just keeps firing goals for the Saints. The star forward kicked another 7 goals over the weekend to increase his tally to 24 for the season.
The consolation effort:
Dave Abetz had his best Premiership game to date after a strong performance in the ruck for the Suns.
Say what?
“The Suns came out and put us under pressure today and we couldn’t really play the way we wanted to play, so it was a bit of a messy game for us.” Sean Mayes, Southern Saints.
“We knew that today was going to be a tough game but I thought we executed quite well but the Saints are a quality outfit so well done to them on another win.” Adem Manderovic, Northern Suns.
Goal Scorers:
Southern Saints: Harley Jenkins 7, Josh Cunliffe 4, Luke Lentner 2, Tommy Burke 1, Kieron Charlton 1, Dom Parkes-Dolan 1, Josh Robles 1
Northern Suns: James Considine 2, Reed Cathcart 2, Paul Hogan 1, Daniel McCarthy 1, Caleb MacPherson 1, Liam Beattie 1, Reef Bainbridge 1
Best on ground:
Southern Saints: Josh Robles
Northern Suns: Dave Abetz
