Dennington coach Leigh Anderson says he is thrilled by the response of his players in a dominant second-half performance with one of his most promising players dining out up forward to kick eight goals.
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The Warrnambool and District league outfit registered its first win of the season on Saturday, April 14, a 20-goal thrashing against South Rovers, 20.19 (139) to 5.5 (35).
The Dogs dominated the second-half with 13 unanswered goals, pleasing Anderson who conceded his side's first-half wasn't quite up to standard.
"We probably didn't play that well in the first half," he admitted.
"We didn't make too many adjustments (at half-time), we thought they had a few too many players getting off the leash in the backline and we tightened them up.
"At the end of the day we won it at the coalface and managed to get things in order."
After shaking off any hamstring concerns from the opening round, the versatile Tom Noonan starred with eight goals for the Dogs, making life painful for the Lions' defensive half.
"We knew he'd do something like this, just with the way he attacks the footy and he takes the ball at the highest point," Anderson said.
"He kicked eight but he probably could have kicked 12 to be honest. He missed a few easy goals so could have had more.
"It was really good to have a focal point and the luxury of it was we had a few bigger blokes to throw down there too to help him out.
"They had to man us up going forward which probably left Tom with the third defender which really helped him."
Anderson said exciting recruit Flynn Rowe was a standout as well as reigning best and fairest winner Bronte Baker while also praising the work of the defensive unit.
Another of the club's recruits, Jarra Blackney-Noter was also important for the Dogs.
"Flynn played a great game in the ruck," he said.
"As for Bronte, he's not really heavy but he hits the ball as hard as anyone I've seen and was terrific.
"I also couldn't fault our defenders after half-time. They really held us together."
The second-year mentor said a strong second-half was proof his side was on the right track after a promising round one display against Russells Creek as well.
"Our guys have been working really hard, particularly on their fitness," he said.
"The off-night work the guys have been doing kind of showed (on Saturday) which is what you want."
Nick Creely
Sports reporter with The Standard
Sports reporter with The Standard
