RUSSELLS Creek coach Darren Little has described Saturday’s win against Merrivale as irrelevant following the death of Tigers coach Stephen Kelson.
The Kangaroos scored their first win of the season with a 16.12 (108) to 9.10 (64) win at Merrivale, which was yesterday mourning its coach who died in the early hours of yesterday. Little preferred not to talk about the match, except to describe it as a solid four-quarter effort from his side.
The Creek coach paid tribute to Kelson yesterday.
“I just want to give my condolences to the Merrivale footy club and his family,” he said.
Creek led at every change on Saturday — by one point at quarter-time, 25 points at half-time and 23 points at three-quarter-time.
The Kangaroos were able to break the tightly-contested game open in the second term by winning the ball around the stoppages through the likes of Dylan Herbertson and Shaun McDougall.
In the forward line, big man Peter Uwland and the dynamic Danny Chatfield were both able to provide targets for the Kangaroos.
The Tigers challenged in the third quarter but Creek was able to maintain a healthy lead as its defence held firm. Uwland was dominant in the last term, taking several contested marks and even crumbing his own ball before snapping a goal on the run which put the match out of the Tigers’ reach.
He finished the game with seven majors while Merrivale forward Todd McLean kicked five goals from limited opportunities.
Tiger Kris Stewart was reported for striking Creek’s Marcus Askew in the last quarter by both central umpires, Anthony Phillips and Gavin Sell.
Stewart accepted a one-week set penalty.
Russells Creek is hoping to make it consecutive victories when it tackles the winless Dennington next weekend while Merrivale, which is facing an emotional week, is hoping to rebound against Deakin University.
