DALE Hunter and Tim Barry led the Orange Tigers to a 204-point thrashing of the Young Saints in their deferred round three Central West AFL clash at Bloomfield Oval on Sunday.
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Barry, originally in doubt due to injury, and Hunter both kicked eight majors as the black and golds romped home 36.17 (233) to 4.5 (29).
Seven Orange players backed up from Central West’s narrow loss to Northern Riverina on Saturday, and Tigers coach Nathan Pearce said Sunday’s result showed off the club’s depth.
“We changed our structures to accommodate the rep players returning,” Pearce said.
“Ben Monaghan dislocated his shoulder on Saturday, and even though it went straight back in we didn’t want to risk him. Guys like Mick Rothnie and Josh Bubnich, our first choice midfielders, all rotated around the half-back and half-forward flanks. We filled our midfield with guys who normally rotate in and out, but haven’t been first choice players. Seeing them do the job so well is very encouraging.”
Pearce said the Saints came out of the blocks hard, taking advantage of a slow start from the home side.
“Young actually kicked the first goal, and looked good to start with,” Pearce said.
“They meant business, and I think that kicked our boys into gear a bit. We ran away with it, and unfortunately sometimes in those games you lose your structure when people think about the scoreline.
“We got a bit selfish, and everyone was wanting to kick goals, rather than staying true to the game plan which got us in that position.”
The Tigers have the bye this weekend, before facing the Saints in a return clash in round five.
Pearce said the “stop-start” nature of the competition made it hard to maintain momentum.
“It’s been different this season,” he said.
“But if we stick to our game plans, which I think are the best in the competition, we’ll be fine. It’s about hard training this next week and a half.”
