SFL live stream: Cygnet and Dodges Ferry look to recover from recent Huonville beatings

Dodges Ferry didn’t know what hit them early as Cygnet set up a crushing win with a first quarter onslaught that has to be seen to be believed. Relive the action from the SFL double header.

An incredible 40-point first-quarter haul set Cygnet on their way to a 77-point victory over Dodges Ferry in a surprisingly one-sided SFL contest on Saturday.

Dodges Ferry could only answer with two behinds in the first term as Cygnet jumped out to a 38-point advantage. They then kicked a further 32 points in the second quarter to take a 58-point lead into halftime.

Goals continued to flow in the second half - this time at both ends - as Cygnet went on to win 130-53.

SFL REPLAY: Cygnet v Dodges Ferry (Reserves)

Dodges Ferry’s unbeaten start to the SFL Reserves season is at an end .... but they have still yet to taste defeat.

In a thrilling final quarter where the lead changed constantly, Dodges Ferry and Cygnet had to settle for a 74-74 draw.

With second-place Lindisfarne beating Brighton, Dodges Ferry’s margin at the top has been cut to six points. Cygnet remain fifth.

PREVIEW

Huonville Lions’ biggest threat for the 2023 SFL premiership will gain more clarity when two of the five teams sharing second place eight points behind them clash on Saturday.

Cygnet and Dodges Ferry are seen by many as the best of the rest behind the all-conquering Lions and their showdown, which is being LIVE STREAMED on KommunityTV as the main piece of a double header from 2pm, is much anticipated.

In a blistering start to the year, the Lions have mauled all four of their opponents to date to put the competition on notice and firmly establish themselves as flag favourites.

Cygnet and Dodges Ferry have seen first-hand the might of the Lions and will now look to assert themselves as the competition’s biggest challenger to the ladder-leaders.

The match will have extra meaning to both sides as they clash as part of the inaugural ‘Cure for Paralysis’ round across both the TSL and SFL competitions.

Dodges Ferry co-coach Robbie McManus and Cygnet skipper Will Polley. Pic: Chris Kidd

Coming off the bye, Cygnet ruckman Will Polley said his side was ready to fire after learning valuable lessons from its big loss to Huonville a fortnight ago.

“We had a couple of big weeks on the track after the loss to Huonville and we went back to the drawing board to assess a few areas we thought we were lacking,” Polley said.

“We’ve put in a lot of work over the past couple of weeks and we are firing and ready for the weekend.”

Polley, who was upbeat despite the tough loss to the Lions, said his side was excited about welcoming the Sharks to Cygnet.

“We’ve always liked rising to the challenge of playing Dodges,” he said.

“Every team likes to pride themselves on making their home ground a fortress, and we are no different. We love having teams come down and we like to make it as hard as possible for teams to win down there. We love having the bigger ground and hopefully we can use that to our advantage this weekend.”

Despite successive losses following victories in their first two matches, Dodges Ferry co-coach Robbie McManus has lost no confidence in his side.

“I’m confident, on our best day, we’ve got a team to challenge just about anyone because we haven’t seen our best day, or come close to it, yet,” he said.

Thor Boscott and his Cygnet side struggled mightily against Huonville.

“Hopefully mid-season we get close to our best day, which is what everyone wants.”

The tough-playing coach said a key to beating the Port would be to avoid a sluggish contest at the often mud-splattered Cygnet Oval.

“We are hoping it’s not another boggy, muddy fight and hopefully we get some green grass down there,” he said.

“We don’t have the greatest history down there, I’m not sure anyone really does, it’s a bit of a fortress down there.

“We are trying to stick to our game plan, which for the last two weeks we have struggled to execute. But we have got a lot of new cattle and so we have a lot of cohesion we need to get right. We are very excited by the challenge. “