Football
15 July, 2024
Saints prevail in Blue Ribbon clash
The Horsham Saints finals hopes remain alive following a gritty 49-point win over the Warrack Eagles at Anzac Park in their annual Blue Ribbon clash.
The round ties in with the Blue Ribbon Foundation Weekly Spirit of Sport awards, recognising good sportsmanship in under-17 footballers and 17-and-under netballers.
The round helps raise the profile of the Blue Ribbon Foundation, which promotes youth interaction with police and remembers the police who have died in the line of duty.
The Eagles brought the heat early, getting numbers back and playing a compact game in the midfield to lead by five points at the first break.
The Saints wrestled momentum back in the second quarter, reversing that deficit and taking a 12-point lead at the main break.
In the third quarter, the Saints started to get on top and break the Eagles strong defence kicking another four goals to two to lead by 21 points at three-quarter-time.
They kicked seven more goals in the last quarter as they got on top around the ground and ran out 18.9.117 to 10.8.68 winners.
Mitch Martin kicked six goals for the Saints, and Judd Wright kicked five. Gage Wright, William Taylor, Patrick Knott, and Sam Clyne were also among their better players.
Ryan McKenzie kicked four goals for the Eagles, with Machok Garang, their best player alongside Kyle Cheney, who kicked two goals, Riley Morrow, Dylan Watts, and Tyson Hunt.
The win keeps the Saints one game behind Nhill and Minyip Murtoa, in fifth and sixth place on the ladder, respectively.
Saints coach Ben Knott said it was a professional win.
"They had a clear plan, and eventually, with the sheer weight of numbers, we got the ball in our forward line and ran over them. It was a very professional win for us in the end," Knott said.
"Judd Wright was sensational, having his first game back in the seniors since round three, where he suffered an injury. He played reserves last week, and we decided to give him a crack this week, and he was sensational.
"We thought Machok Garang would have started centre-half-back for the Eagles, but he didn't, so we left Wright at centre-half-forward, and it was a good decision in the end."
Mitch Martin is continuing his goal-kicking form, with 11 in the last three games, and Knott said they plan on keeping him forward.
"He has been playing in midfield and been getting a lot of disposals through the middle and down back, but recently we needed him up forward, and he is damaging up there that we are looking at keeping him forward as much as we can," Knott said.
"We are looking at finding other players that can go through the midfield so we can play Mitch up forward a bit more."