WESTERN Jets held their nerve to beat the Calder Cannons by two points in an entertaining TAC Cup showdown at Highgate Reserve on Sunday.
A high-quality game was ultimately decided by costly mistakes in the Calder backline as the Jets punished indecisiveness to open the match-winning break early in the final quarter.
Calder challenged in the dying stages but fell to a third straight loss to start the season, losing 14.9 (93) to the Jets 14.11.95.
The Jets trailed by three points at the final change but took the lead via James Sicily three and a half minutes in.
On 11 minutes, a telegraphed back-pass in the Calder defensive 50m by Jake Lever was intercepted by the Jets’ Mitchell Norton, who goaled from close range. With his tail up, Norton then ran into the 50m and kicked a banana goal after a Calder kick to a contest on half back spilt into his path.
Down by 13, Calder closed the gap when Jason Cooke kicked his fourth goal of the day.
The Jets missed a golden chance to seal the game a minute later when Omar Abou-Zeid missed from 20m on the run, and Calder’s Matthew Merlo set up a grandstand finish when his attempt on goal tumbled through to make the score 92-95.
A desperate smother from Billy Myers denied one attempt from Calder to own the corridor and go into attack in time-on. In the 26th minute, Aaron Christensen broke free to send a high shot to the goalsquare. But no Cannon could mark.
The siren sounded with the Jets trying to take the ball out of their defensive 50m and Calder pressed up, desperately seeking the go-ahead score.
In the first quarter, Calder got the jump with Matt Goodyear’s goal and a Charlie Van Der Byl set shot as the Jets went goalless through the first 10 minutes.
A chain of uncontested Jets marks ended with Daniel Burton putting his team on the board.
Jason Cooke booted two goals in three minutes with a 55m roost from Harrison King in between for a Jets response. Cooke’s double got Calder to quarter-time with an 18-point lead.
The advantage did not last long for Calder though, with Duom Dawam’s ruck-work sparking control of the centre square leading a brisk Jets comeback.
Goals to King, Lachlan Hickey and a sharp-shooter’s effort from Mark Orr had the Jets level in seven minutes.
When Mitchell Norton goaled just before the nine-minute mark, the Jets had the lead.
But Calder worked its way back to the front, with Walker from 40m, Van Der Byl after a big pack mark and Riley O’Brien on the stroke of half-time goaling to send the Cannons to the long break with a 10-point advantage.
Calder threatened to escape again at the start of the third quarter when Jayden Walker goaled after just 45 seconds to make the margin 16 points.
Pele Manivong outran the Calder backline for back-to-back goals, hitting the post with what would have been a third major in four minutes after attempting a set-shot snap from a tight angle.
David Iaccarino goaled on the run nine minutes in to put the Jets up 62-59. But a left-foot snap from Van Der Byl had Calder back in the lead, followed soon after by the steadier from O’Brien after he marked a Victor Carboni shot on the goal-line.
The Jets surged again, with James Sicily accurate from 40m and John Corso dribbling through a goal two minutes later to take a 75-72 lead.
But Calder turned for home three points up when Nathan Blair backed his pace to escape his opponent and goal from 48m, with a shepherd from Van Der Byl on the line crucial to the ball getting through.
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