The Bull Sharks walked away with a lot more than four points and a guaranteed top-two finish from their heavyweight clash with Carrara at the weekend.
Alan Nielsen Oval has been a graveyard for Bond in recent years. A place where any self-belief built in previous rounds is routinely beaten out of them by the bigger, tougher Saints.
After the 15-point win to break the three-way deadlock at the top of the ladder, the belief is now bubbling over. And more importantly in the lead-up to finals, the other premiership contenders now know the Bull Sharks can’t be bullied.
How it unfolded
The game appeared to be following the usual script. The Bull Sharks used their skill, pace and athleticism early to build a lead. And the unpanicked hosts flexed their muscles late in the game and prepared to deliver the knockout blow.
When the Saints hit the lead midway through the final quarter, even the most diehard Bull Sharks supporters could be forgiven for thinking history was about to be repeated.
Only this time Bond withstood Carrara’s two-punch combo and retaliated with a flurry of their own to claim a 12.5 (77) to 9.9 (63) victory.
Premiership-winning coach and current president Sam Whish-Wilson reckons it ranked among the top-five wins in club history.
“It was a true character test,” he said.
“In recent years we have struggled with the size of opponents.
“And on their home deck Carrara are a club that lets you know they are beating you, so to stop their momentum in the last quarter and find some of our own is a testament to our current group.
“The boys were representing something bigger than oneself, and you could certainly feel that as a supporter.’’
The heroes
Bond University AFL Director Andy Lovell couldn’t go past the Bull Sharks’ defence, led by skipper Wyatt Bacon.
The Saints pumped the ball into their attacking fifty relentlessly during the final quarter and the Bull Sharks back six stood firm.
“They were enormous in that final quarter,” Lovell said.
“They were under siege, and they fought and scrapped and worked as a unit and they managed to repel the Saints.”
The turning point
Matt Smith had booted three goals and was Bond’s most dangerous forward, but his move into the midfield in the final quarter was a coaching master stroke. The Bull Sharks midfielders had fought hard all day but the sheer size of the hosts’ on-ball brigade had swung momentum their way.
The 20-point half time lead had become 10 at the final change and when Carrara booted the opening two goals of the final term, it was time to make the move.
Enter Smith who got the ball going the Bull Sharks’ way.
“He flipped the game on its head,” Lovell said.
“It was a balancing act for us because we needed him up forward too, so we waited as long as we could to pull the lever.
“And then he went in there and I reckon that won us the game.’’
Good players find a way
Morgan Ferres had been well held all day by his opponent.
The former Riewoldt Family AFL Excellence scholarship holder, who was giving away size and strength to his opposite number, had made the mistake of engaging in a wrestling duel he couldn’t win.
The tight confines of the ground didn’t help either.
But he made adjustments to play to his own strengths and became the gamebreaker his side needed.
“He was a good defender and it took me a while to work out how to play against him properly,” Ferres admitted.
Ferres booted the last three goals of the game to secure the win.