RELATED: Maffra menaces Morwell
SALE made it four consecutive wins, moving to second on the Gippsland League football ladder by defeating Drouin 18.16 (124) to 4.6 (30) on Saturday.
The Magpies effectively put the game away when they kicked six goals to none in the first quarter.
With the windy conditions at Sale Oval favouring the southern end of the ground, the Magpies got their hands on the football and used that advantage.
Both teams were trying to move the ball to the grandstand side of the ground, which made the forward entries easier, but Sale capitalised on these entries, as Drouin missed a couple of easy opportunities to be down by 36 points at the first break.
Brad Dessent, who had been in good form previously, was looking dangerous in the first half, and when he kicked his fourth goal during the second quarter, there was a sense that he could get a collection of goals.
Finishing the match with nine goals, Dessent’s strong leading and marking were giving the Sale midfielders full confidence when moving forward.
A highlight was the battle of two of the league’s best ruckmen in Sale’s Jack Lipman and Drouin’s Bob McCallum, who were providing an even contest.
Despite this, Jordan Dessent and Kane Martin were getting their hands on the football and Drouin had no answer, only managing one goal for the half as the Magpies led at the main change by 52 points.
Sale had been in a similar position last year when Drouin had been kept to a small score at half-time before piling on the goals, but unlike that occasion, the Magpies would put their foot down and created plenty of opportunities to limit the Hawks.
The Magpies had 11 scoring shots but could only manage four goals, the tricky wind playing a part. Despite this, the contest was over and when the third quarter finished it was a matter of how much not who.
Sale led by 76 points at three-quarter-time, and as conditions became slightly better, the home side felt it could kick on and get a percentage boost.
As both sides continued to play attacking football, the Sale defenders mopped up any of the Hawks’ loose exits.
Shane Fyfe read the football well and was ably supported by Ben Jones, who had been moved down back and intercepted a lot of Drouin kicks.
A five-goal final quarter would have pleased the Sale team, which had failed to shake off a determined Morwell the week before.
The score was a reflection of the domination the Magpies had and was played in front of a big group of past players who were celebrating a multitude of previous premiership success.
Kane Martin and Jordan Dessent were the best midfielders on the ground, while Nic Dowse with his strong approach on the ball was again terrific.
The win gave Sale a game break from the four clubs on three victories, with the next game against Wonthaggi a massive fixture for the Magpies’ finals aspirations.
