From Ballarat Courier
Reported by Melanie Whelan
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WHAT is power? North Ballarat Roosters coach Gerard FitzGerald challenged his players to show him their power – in running, leads, attack on the ball, attack without the ball – at three-quarter-time last night.
The Selkirk Roosters showed their power in a 12-goal-to-one final term against Bendigo to seal an 85-point win in the Victorian Football League under lights at Queen Elizabeth Oval.
They booted six unanswered goals within the first 10 minutes of play and another five before Bendigo Gold could claim its first major of the term.
After three quarters, the Roosters held a 20-point lead against a determined, young Gold outfit that was hungry to prove its worth before hometown support.
FitzGerald and his Roosters knew Gold would fight hard to the end, but the Roosters had to secure their first win of the season – and in emphatic style.
Ahead lies a clash against a powerful Essendon next week.
“We’re trying to play a powerful brand of footy and it’s not necessarily a pretty brand of footy but there’s a bit of a trend in the game back towards longer kicking down the ground,” FitzGerald said.
“We’ve achieved a win and that’s great for confidence.”
The Roosters’ powerful brand chalked up 101 tackles last night, against an equally tough Gold that made 104 tackles.
Their focus was attack on the ball, getting to the contest to mark or, if it was needed, take the ball to the ground.
It was hard to look past the North Melbourne-listed Ben Jacobs who, in his second match for the Roosters, had 41 disposals (23 contested possessions) and 13 clearances.
The relentless Myles Sewell also set the tone with 31 disposals, 11 clearances and a team-high 12 tackles.
Jason Linke became a dangerous force in front of goals, booting four majors while the strong, high-marking Aaron Black kicked five.
Defender Oliver Tate got through his first game of this season well and FitzGerald was pleased with Tom Curran’s effort (23 disposals, 11 marks).
The Roosters sang the club song with gusto, a strong supporter base squeezing into the rooms to join in.
The crowd was a positive sign for the rivalry a now stand-alone Bendigo is trying to reignite with Ballarat.
And Bendigo fans had plenty to cheer about.
Gold led by two points at quarter-time and were the more dominant team for the first half of the second term then outscoring the Roosters 3.5 to 2.2 in the third.
But when the Roosters clicked, it really was pretty powerful.
