April 30, 2007
From Ballarat Courier
GEELONG gave North Ballarat an old fashioned football lesson in the VFL in Geelong yesterday.
GEELONG gave North Ballarat an old fashioned football lesson in the VFL in Geelong yesterday.
There is no other way to describe the 60-point bath which the Cats gave the Selkirk Roosters.
North Ballarat stayed in touch until late in the third quarter, thanks to three goals in the term to Eddie Sansbury.
However, it was nothing more than false hope.
North Ballarat did not kick another goal, while Geelong cut loose with the next eight to romp in 18.17 (125) to 9.11 (65).
The Roosters were simply outclassed.
Geelong superior pace and ability open up the game undid North Ballarat, which was fortunate to stay in contention as long as it did.
In the same way they ended the match, the Cats dominated the opening quarter.
The difference was inaccuracy in front of goal.
Geelong, which went in without Brad Ottens, had the chance to put North Ballarat away, but 3.7 kept North Ballarat in it.
Roosters coach Gerard FitzGerald predicted Geelong would be tough to overcome, but he was extremely disappointed with the way North Ballarat fell away.
That's what hurt most."
He said up to that stage, he had been satisfied with the determination shown.
"We were working hard , but couldn't get any rhythm.
"We have to learn from this."
FitzGerald restated that Geelong was "as good as it gets" in the VFL at the moment.
"We were always going to find out where we sit.
"I'm confident we can make the required changes."
FitzGerald said this was not the first time North Ballarat had been caught out by the opposition being smarter in transition.
"We been able to respond and keep the damage to a minimum in other games.
"We weren't able to (this time)," he said.
The heavy loss drops North Ballarat to eighth place.
Jacob Spolding and Steve Clifton battled hard, while Jesse Smith was a driving force from defence.
There were none better for North Ballarat though than Ed Lower, who tagged Steve Johnson and shut the Geelong star out of the game.
While Johnson, who is serving club ban from the AFL, kicked two goals he had little other impact.
Sansbury was another steady contributor with Rob Gregg, who started in sensational style, but overall there was little sign of the spark that had lifted North Ballarat over the line against Tasmania the previous week.
Kangaroos-listed Ben Hughes was reported for tripping in the first quarter.
