A 76-POINT point win normally wouldn’t give a coach a headache.
But Golden Square coach Mark Adamson has a selection headache this week after his side demolished arch-rival Sandhurst on Saturday.
The Bulldogs were back to their brilliant best following their final-quarter fadeout the previous week against South Bendigo.
Everyone played a part in the win yet Adamson could make as many as four changes for next week’s clash with Strathfieldsaye.
Nick and Chris Carter are both available after recovering from injuries, and Anthony Holdstock and Jason Limbrick regained form and fitness in the reserves against Sandhurst and will both come into calculations for promotion this week.
Adamson himself faces a spell on the sidelines after he strained a hamstring in the third quarter.
“There’s going to be some players who miss out who haven’t done much wrong,’’ Adamson said.
“When clubs have successful years that tends to be the story. The guys just have to work hard and make sure it’s not them.’’
But even just the addition of the Carters spells big trouble for the Storm with Square in such slick form.
The 20.15 (135) to 9.5 (59) win over the Dragons should have been a lot greater had the Bulldogs not wasted some easy opportunities in front of goal, particularly in the first half.
The Bulldogs’ midfield outmuscled their lightly-built Sandhurst opponents and their use of the ball in windy conditions gave their forwards plenty of opportunities.
Nathan Bell, Mark Lloyd and Aaron Hawkins all had 30-plus possession games for the Bulldogs.
But it was Bell’s work in close that was most damaging. Sandhurst didn’t have a player capable of stopping the strongly-built centreman and he continually fed the ball out to the likes of Lloyd, Hawkins and speedy duo Matt Klein-Breteler and Josh Baird.
Adam Baird did a great job of blanketing Sandhurst star Lee Coghlan, although the latter was slowed down by a heavy knock in the first quarter.
Matt O’Toole was the best forward on the ground and his lead-up work, particularly in the first-half, helped set up the big win.
David McMeekin dominated in the ruck and defenders Lachlan O’Toole, Chris Malone and Dale Young didn’t put a foot wrong.
“We wanted to control the game a lot better than we did the week before and I thought we did do that for most of the day,’’ Adamson said.
“The way we moved the ball was very pleasing and we were systematic in the way we moved the ball back through the centre of the ground.’’
There was always a chance the youthful Dragons could have a let-down after a big win against Kangaroo Flat the previous week.
After a competitive first 20 minutes, the Dragons were blown away by the Bulldogs.
On a day when the Dragons had few four-quarter performers, Michael Hill continued his good form, skilful teenager Braidy Dickens bagged three goals from limited opportunities and Lucas Ruedin and coach Kieran Nihill won plenty of the ball.
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