The Batemans Bay Seahawks stamped their premiership credentials on Saturday night with an eight-point victory over the ladder-leading Molonglo Juggernauts at Hanging Rock Oval.
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It marks the Seahawks ninth-straight win this season, and has them safely inside the top-three heading into the business end of the season.
The visiting Juggernauts got off to a fast start with two early goals, but three goals in three minutes had the Seahawks on top heading into quarter time.
The Juggernauts hit back with a goal, but a late one for Adam Bradbury saw the ‘Hawks head into the break with a six-point lead.
The match tightened up in the second quarter, with the Bay kicking three-goals-to-two to build a 10-point lead at half time.
The Juggernauts were never going to go away, and they started controlling play in the third quarter with a solid structure behind the ball.
Their repeat entries were nullified by inaccuracy in front of goal though, and the Seahawks took full advantage of their rare opportunities to build a 13-point lead at the final break.
The fourth quarter was more of the same, as the Juggernauts once again controlled the footy for long stretches.
However, two goals from youngster Byron Van Dyk were enough to get the Seahawks home by a score of 13.5 (83) to 11.9 (75).
Seahawks’ captain/coach Mick Kenny said Molonglo were their biggest test so far this season.
“That’s the toughest game we’ve played all year,” he said. “We had to work hard to get the job done, but credit to the boys, they played their best game of the season.”
Kenny said he’ll focus on trying to keep a lid on excitement in the wake of nine-straight wins.
“We’ll focus on tonight’s win a little bit, but we’re still trying to improve every week,” he said. “Yes, it was a very good performance, but we have to remember that we’ve still got improvement left in us.”
Kenny tinkered with some of his tactics before the match, but eventually relied on the hard work of his troops.
“We knew they played a really solid press, so for us it was about work rate,” Kenny said. “We started with a loose man early in the first half, but they probably got a bit more run from their loose, so we switched back to man-on-man.
“It was just about gut running in the end. Everyone backed themselves, worked hard, and it was enough to get the job done.”
