Tara Murray
A strong run of four games for Sunshine has been capped off with an upset win against Parkside in the Western Region Football League division 2 on Saturday.
The Kangaroos found the right receipt to upset the Magpies, who suffered their first loss of the season.
The win, the Kangaroos fourth in a row, shores up a top four spot, as the back end of the season hits.
Kangaroos coach Ben Chapman said after an up and down start, they had started to find their groove.
“We’ve played some pretty good footy,” he said. “We’re not worrying about the results and we’re on the right track.
“We’ve now beaten every team in the competition. When we play our best footy, it’s good enough to beat anyone, which is really pleasing.”
Chapman said they had spoken during the week about the challenge of facing the Magpies and the opportunity it presented the group.
He said knowing they were playing some good football, it was a good opportunity to see where the side was sitting.
On Saturday, the Kangaroos controlled the game through the first half to open up a 42 point lead at half time.
The Magpies showed some resistance in the second half, but the Kangaroos steadied to come away with a 16.8 (104)-11.10 (78) win.
Chapman said the group played some really good football.
“We controlled the majority of the game and played the way we wanted to play,” he said.
“We were able to dictate the game and we took the strengths away from them and opened it up a little bit.
“We kicked the first four goals of the game before they kicked two goals before quarter time. We kicked seven goals to two in the second quarter and gave our forwards some really good opportunities.”
Chapman said they were a bit off in the third quarter as the Magpies tried to make a comeback.
He said he was pleased with how the group held firm and responded, saying it was something that wouldn’t have occurred earlier in the season.
“It was a bit of reward for effort,” Chapman said.
Charly Williams kicked seven goals for the Kangaroos in a best on ground performance.
Chapman said the midfield group led by Hisham Kerbatieh, Mathew Medcraft and Jack Allan, and ruck Murray Boyd were really good in shutting the Magpies down.
He said the defensive group was also really strong.
Chapman said the message after the game was to make sure they don’t get ahead of themselves after that win.
“We are on the right track,” he said. “We have to keep the consistency in our performance and be on the ball every week.”
