Calder Cannons mastered the conditions and outlasted their opponents to record a gritty win over Western Jets on Saturday, keeping the Cannons in clear second place on the TAC Cup table.
On a cold and windy day in Williamstown, the Cannons took a while to click into gear early on but their fight when challenged in the final quarter warmed the hearts of all in orange as Calder took the win 10.9 (69) to 9.11 (65).
PICTURE GALLERY: Calder Cannons v Western Jets
Calder kicked with a strong breeze in the opening term but took their time to make the best use of it as the Jets locked down on the visitors runners and kept the game tight.
Calder booted three goals in the final 10 minutes to set up a 14-point buffer at the first change, and a downpour during the quarter-time break ensured scoring would become more difficult.
It took 17 minutes before either side scored a goal – with Josh Cauchi extending the Cannons lead – but the Jets bagged two late goals to trim the margin to four points at the long break.
The Cannons looked like they would run away with the game in the third as they dominated possession around the ground, but they could only extend their half-time lead by 10 points despite the advantage of a stiff breeze.
Calder coach Andrew Jago implored his side to take the game on in the final quarter and they responded through Hisham Kerbatieh who ran unchallenged through the middle of the ground to extend their lead early in the last.
But the Jets wouldn’t go away as they kicked three unanswered goals to level the scores with 20 minutes gone, only to be denied in the final minutes as the Cannons dug deep to take the four points.
Jago was full of praise for his boys, especially the way they responded in the final moments of the game.
“I told the boys all week that it’ll be a one or two goal game, they [the Jets] just keep on coming and coming,” Jago said.
“Full credit to the Cannons boys who had to absorb all that and they stood up when it counted. We had a debutant today, and a couple more playing their second game, and I don’t think we had a player that didn’t contribute and that makes you hard to beat.
“They’re getting to the stage where they’re starting to coach themselves, and I told them at the start of the year that their job is to make us coaches redundant and they’re starting to do that which is very pleasing.”
