KYNETON unleashed a blistering second half to sink Gisborne at a frosty Gardiner Reserve on Saturday.
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With regular goalkicking stars Ben Weightman and Mitch Scholard well held early by the Dogs’ defence Tigers’ livewire midfielder-forward Max O’Sullivan (five goals) and youngster Tim Kirk stepped up.
Up until half-time the Bulldogs were right in a contest which was at times heated and occasionally spiteful.
Then the Tigers flicked the switch in the second half landing 11 goals to five as they rolled home by 51 points, 17.13 (115) to 9.10 (64).
“The little bit of niggle was probably just the Macedon Ranges rivalry coming out. Football is a competitive sport and the people who play it are competitive beasts so I think the crowd enjoyed it,” Kyneton coach Luke Beattie said.
With Nick Doolan and Heath Simpson blanketing Weightman and Scholard, Gisborne led at quarter time and was just 11 points down at the long break.
Beattie used big defender Harrison Huntley as the extra man in defence to great effect in the second term.
Unfortunately, Huntley had to leave the ground a few minutes before half-time with concussion and could be sidelined for a period.
The Bulldogs had Jake Conolan and Jaidyn Owen on target in attack before Max O’Sullivan finally sparked the Tigers.
He sank a long bomb at the pavilion end midway through the second quarter as Kyneton finally upped their tempo to snatch an 11-point half-time lead.
The Tigers came with a rush in the second half. With the lights on in the third term they added 4.6 to 2.3 as tempers boiled over.
Fintan Brazil booted the second of two goals at the creek end with his goal coming without the ball returning to the centre.
Ethan Foreman rammed home an important Kyneton major followed by another moments before the siren to Max O’Sullivan.
But the Dogs weren’t going to lie down. Conolan drilled his third major after hauling in a great mark 40m out early in the final quarter.
Clinton Young goaled from 10m out with no Tiger on the mark following yet another all-in skirmish on the Gisborne forward line.
Then the Tigers ensured the final term would stretch to 35 minutes with a seven-goal burst.
Rhys Magin, Scholard and Weightman bolstered the Tigers’ scoreline with the majors which iced the contest.
Beattie said the Tigers hadn’t really stuck to their game plan early on.
“But once we settled our players were able to use their foot skills and open the game up,’’ Beattie said.
“I always felt we were stronger across a number of positions that they might have struggled with.”
