Dirty day for Demons as Glenorchy injects more momentum into its State League season
The TSL finals race is heating up after Glenorchy sent North Hobart back to the drawing board with a dominant first half performance in driving rain.
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A WET weather masterclass from a hungrier Glenorchy outfit has catapulted the club back into State League contention at the halfway point of the season.
Staring down the barrel at 0-3 after a humiliating loss to Clarence, the Pies have strung together two wins on the bounce after manhandling a disappointing North Hobart at KGV.
The Demons entered the contest looking to prove their own credentials but left with more questions than answers after being held goalless in the first half of the 7.8 (50) to 4.8 (32) result.
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With Clarence stunning previously undefeated ladder leader Launceston in the slop at Windsor Park, the Pies joined the Demons, the Roos and Lauderdale with a 2-3 record in a congestion behind the two Launceston sides.
In at times driving rain in the opening half the hosts outworked, out-ran, out-muscled and out-pressured their opponents.
Glenorchy kept the Demons to just four behinds at the long break, and managed 4.4 of their own through the work of evergreen veteran Jaye Bowden (3.3) and Matthew Joseph, who kicked two first-half goals.
North Hobart didn’t kick its first major until the five minute mark of the third stanza through Troy Cunliffe, but after Tom Reeves marked and converted from 30m deep into time on the margin was a manageable 20 points at the last change.
However Bowden put the game beyond doubt early in the last quarter, firstly with his third goal after being held and then hitting an unmarked Riley Best lace-out 35m directly in front shortly after.
“It wasn’t just winning, it was the way the boys played, it was a really clinical, professional, hard display of footy,” said Pies coach Paul Kennedy, who revealed the side played in honour of 55-year club stalwart property steward Barry Hassett, whose wife passed away during the week.
“There wasn’t too much easy stuff for North Hobart, a couple of moments late in the third and late in the fourth, but apart from that it was a pretty tough day at the office for them.
“That’s how we wanted to make it.
“It wasn’t a day to be crispy clean, but in terms of playing these conditions, I thought we were pretty close to that.”
While Bowden was the dominant forward at one end, skipper Josh Arnold continued his outstanding season marshalling the defensive unit which grows more imposing by the week as Daniel Joseph and Tom Cleary get some continuity.
Demons coach Richard Robinson labelled the performance his side’s worst of the year, undoing some of the ground made following gallant efforts against Launceston and North Launceston and a comprehensive victory against Lauderdale.
“It is a ruthless comp … you just can’t turn up to KGV and think Glenorchy will roll over.
“If you don’t apply yourself and come into every game ready to have a real crack, you will get found out.
“We were found out today.
“It is the most disappointing effort we have had this year. Our effort wasn’t there.
“I have real faith in this group but today, what we served up was terrible. The fact we had 29 tackles for the day, in these conditions, tells the tale.”
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