AUSTRALIAN RULES
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BEFORE Saturday’s Central West AFL first grade grand final, Bathurst Bushrangers coach Mark Kennedy had stressed the importance of his side making a strong start against Cowra.
They did just that at George Park and then went on to post a 14-6-90 to 9-11-65 win, the strong start proving crucial as Kennedy had predicted.
“It was important that we make a good start because then they [Cowra] start to doubt themselves and we can build from that,” the coach said.
“Every contest, every time you go in for the ball, every mark - I told the guys that they had to make sure they won that contest. I told them not to worry about anything else, don’t look behind you, if you make a mistake, keep moving forward and that is what we did.
“From there every quarter we kept building momentum, building momentum.”
Bathurst set the platform with four goals in the opening term and while the forward line did the job required, the lead was just as much due to some stern defence as Cowra had their fair share of inside 50s but could only manage three behinds.
After denying Cowra’s Brendan Reid from a set shot with some scrambling defence in front of goal, Dave Hitchick cleared for Bathurst and they soon opened their account.
The Bushrangers’ first shot was touched and went through for a behind, but with some five minutes of play gone skipper Matt Archer booted the first major of the match.
From that point onwards the hosts led.
The Blues conceded two 50 metre penalties for the term and while Damian Cuff had his attempt from the first marked by Cowra’s Irwin Burbage, the second just before quarter-time sailed through for a goal to make it 4-3-27 to 0-3-3.
Less than a minute into the second term following a good centre clearance, the Bushrangers had a fifth major via Mick Phillips and when Dennis Pedemont added another soon after, the lead had ballooned to 36 points.
Cowra finally managed to kick their first goal of the match, but the reply was quick to come. Sebastian Matheson again got a nice tap down from the centre bounce, a team-mate pounced and sent the ball inside 50, Phillips marked then hit the target.
The Blues tried hard to reel in the deficit and at one stage managed back-to-back majors, but again the hosts had the final say for the term as a Paul Long goal just before the siren had his side well in control.
That kick gave the Bushrangers a 39-point 10-5-65 to 5-6-36 lead at the long break, but goals proved harder to come by in the second half as Cowra tried desperately to get back into the contest and win their third consecutive premiership flag.
The Bushrangers did manage to kick the first major of the third term following another 50 metre penalty. This time Matheson the recipient when he was held down after taking an excellent defensive overhead grab.
The fullback found Shaun Noyen on the lead and the ball was soon in the hands of full forward Pedemont. He made no mistake from his set shot and two others which followed while Cowra’s only major of the term came via Nathan Worth.
At the final change Bathurst led 13-5-83 to 6-9-45 and looked headed for victory, but Cowra came out hard in the fourth quarter and threw everything at the Bushrangers.
Reid made sure Cowra notched up the first major of the term and when Frank Bright was awarded a 50 metre penalty he came close to booting another, his shot striking the left upright for a minor score.
However, Bright soon had a goal next to his name and Worth had kicked a major as well to see Cowra close within 18 points of the lead.
But that was as close as Cowra came as Pedemont – who was judged best on ground – took a spectacular grab and booted his seventh goal to halt the Blues’ momentum.
“I knew the guys would settle, I just think it was a little bit to do with nerves in that final quarter. I sent the runners out with the message to just settle and maintain control of the footy,” Kennedy said.
“They did that, they controlled the footy and shifted the ball around and made sure we ran away with it.”
In the end the Bushrangers, who had been runners-up to Cowra for the past two seasons, won by 25 points. They celebrated as if the margin was 1000.
“That feels fantastic, after last year we just said we will move on, tick that box and not worry about it. We just kept building and building and worked harder,” Kennedy said.
“We knew how much it hurt to see someone else standing there and lifting that cup up, so we were not going to let that happen again.”
BATHURST BUSHRANGERS 14-6-90 (Dennis Pedemont 7, Mick Phillips 2, Matt Archer 2, Leigh Kingwill, Paul Long, Mitch Cameron) defeated COWRA BLUES 9-11-65 (Nathan Worth 2, Marc Hyland 2, James Boyce 2, Frank Bright, Kim Reid, Brendan Reid)