Wanderers swoop early to get their sharp claws around a sleepy Magpie side

WANDERERS triumphed over the Magpies 12.11 (83) to 7.9 (51) at Palmerston Oval in a game which saw players hampered by the scorching sun

Nigel Lockyer Jr takes a big mark for Territory Thunder. Picture: AFLNT MEDIA

WANDERERS triumphed over the Magpies 12.11 (83) to 7.9 (51) at Palmerston Oval in a game which saw players hampered by the scorching sun.

The young Wanderers outfit rushed to an early lead, Joel Jeffrey setting the tone with an early goal and they never looked back from there.

Only a Keidan Holt-Tubbs double late in the opening quarter kept the home side in contact, but that was not enough.

Wanderers coach Shannon Motlop highlighted the opening quarter as a focus for his young side.

“We wanted a good start, we’ve had a few slow starts so it’s definitely a bit of a focus for us,” he said. “It’s probably the first in three weeks where we’ve won the first quarter so it’s good to get that.”

Goals came pretty slowly thereafter, the two teams caught in a deadlock for much of the second quarter until Keenan Smith Thompson of Wanderers knocked one through with four minutes left on the clock.

The Magpies played for pride from then on, looking to inspire their home fans and give captain Aaron Lonergan something to look back on in his 100th NTFL game.

They managed to score four in the last term, while Nigel Lockyer Jr put in a massive defensive shift to contain Jeffrey throughout the closing stages.

But dual Ken Farmer medallist Brett Eddy slipped in as Wanderers’ danger man in response.

“There were some good performances and we had some good players out on the paddock playing well,” Motlop said.

“But as a team we’re not quite there yet and we’re still getting it all together at the moment, but that will come.”