Island dogged down as Inverloch swoop in

ARRIVING at the ground it was mentioned - ‘Perfect conditions – no excuses today’.  Old sayings hold up.

After a solemn and moving ANZAC Day service it was soon clear that of the two evenly matched teams jostling for position in the top half of the ladder, one came to battle better prepared.

For simplicity let’s call the teams PI and IK.  

The opening quarter saw IK out of the gate early with a quick goal.  After that came nearly 10 minutes of arm wrestle between the respective half forward lines with plenty of arm wrestling and stare downs but no scoring.  

The trend was broken by a nice fast break by IK which gave them their second major, followed by another fast break for their third, 15 minutes in.  

At 17 minutes IK’s Mahoney was on the end of another good passage and goaled to but the visitors their fourth for a 21-point advantage.  

Kai McKenzie was finding it and had a chance to goal late, but missed and the island went to the first break in arrears 26-1.

IK continued on where they left off and, in the second quarter started with a couple of opportunities but thankfully for the dogs were off target.  

PI lifted the work rate and applied plenty of pressure and effort but just could not score. 

Bill Taylor missed a set shot and immediately marked strongly for another shot but again, a minor.  Captain Jack then sent a sizzler to Can Pederson who converted for PI’s first goal, 10 minutes into the second term.  

Unfortunately, a costly turnover undid the effort and resulted in an IK immediate reply.  

Second half starts promising as Pederson finds Pappas who converts from a sharp angle. 

But while the Island were upping their work rate, IK withstood the challenge and were able to match the scoring.  

Max Blake and Coby Olarenshaw were lifting up forward, and Kimber to the midfield added a bit of punch but IK’s commitment was making scoring difficult.  

A mid-term surge with goals late showed endeavour without ever really challenging, but IK struck back late in the final term to run out convincing and deserving 36 point winners.

With a side that wins a lot, it’s easy to throw a bucket of talcum powder in the air and let a little land on everyone.  

Losses are more difficult than that but let’s not shirk it and here goes.  

It’s early in the season and lessons are learned.  

These two teams are very evenly matched, but one came better prepared.  

Results suggest their pre-planning worked and while IK shared the ball around to anyone in a better position, PI bombed it long and performed countless ‘U’ turns into trouble rather than share the ball.  

Luckily, finals and flags are not won in Round Two, but warning signs are worth noting…