Rupertswood has sent a message to the rest of the competition, dismantling reigning premiers Diggers Rest in Saturday’s Riddell Football League action.
In a second v third match-of-the-round, Rupertswood got the jump on Diggers and set up the commanding 17.11 (113) – 6.9 (45) victory, leapfrogging into second place in the process.
Sharks coach Kevin Fitzgerald said his side had spoken of the importance of the match in the lead-up and his troops delivered.
“We knew that we had a big job ahead of us, and the boys knew where we stood going into this game,” Fitzgerald said.
“This was an opportunity to rectify some of our poor games against teams earlier in the season and start to head towards where we think we should be going.
“We’ve got high expectations of ourselves, and what we put out earlier in the year wasn’t what we’re about … this game was a good example of what we’re capable of.”
Rupertswood shot out of the blocks early, kicking seven first-quarter goals to two to set up the game and open up a 33-point buffer at the first change.
Diggers Rest contained the home side in the second quarter as both sides kicked three goals, but the visitors would not get any closer for the rest of the day.
The Sharks lost Sean Hetherington to concussion just before half-time, but it did little to stifle their attacking prowess.
Spreading the ball around and creating multitude of avenues to goal became the hallmark of the game for the Sharks as 10 players registered majors and the lead ballooned.
With a 52-point lead at the final change the result was all sewn up, but true to the form of a side which now boasts a percentage of 258, they didn’t slow down the scoring rate.
A further four goals in the final quarter gave them a resounding 68-point win.
Todd and Dylan Podolczak did the bulk of the damage with seven goals between them, while the defensive showing was equally impressive as Diggers scored just one goal after half-time.
“The defensive side of our game was a big focus coming up against Diggers,” Fitzgerald said.
“We thought to win we would have to be good defensively, and really it stands up every week if you can beat a side defensively you go a long way towards winning the game.
“We had a very even contribution from all the boys today which is always nice to see.”
The games don’t get any easier for the Sharks, who now travel to Wallan this week in another crucial match.
Fitzgerald said it was now important for his side to consolidate the victory.
“This win will mean nothing if we get done by Wallan,” he said.
“We have to be ready for the contest when it comes.
“You’ve got to move on exceptionally quickly, and now we’re at the point where we’re pretty sure we will play finals and we want to set ourselves up with the best chance of having a really good tilt at it.”
