Sport
1 June, 2026
Saints claim ladder lead
The Horsham Saints have claimed the ladder lead after defeating Stawell on Saturday, 12.10 (82) to 10.9 (69).
The Horsham Saints have claimed the ladder lead after defeating Stawell on Saturday, 12.10 (82) to 10.9 (69).
Saints captain Mitch Martin (with three goals) led his side to the win by being a focal point in the forward line, alongside Rory Taggert (two), while Stawell's Paul Summers (three) was the leading goal scorer for his side, followed by Cody Driscoll and Sunny Brazier (both with two).
Horsham Saints coach Angus Martin said his side knew it would be a challenging game against the Warriors.
The Horsham side were up 2.3 (15) to 1.2 (8) at the end of the first quarter, with the difference eight points at the big break, 4.5 (29) to 3.3 (21).
"With a low-scoring first half, neither side was giving an inch and the pressure was through the roof," Martin said.
A better effort from the Warriors in the quarter after half-time saw the side hold the advantage going into the final term, 9.4 (58) to 6.8 (44).
"Unfortunately, they got the jump on us and looked the better side in the third, but credit to our guys, we just made it hard for them," Martin said.
"At the last change I said to our guys, 'If we want to be considered a top side, these are the moments we have to take'."
The Saints found the big sticks six times in the last quarter, adding a total of 40 to their score, while the Warriors increased their tally by only 11.
Martin said in the end it was Horsham's fitness that shone through.
"We kept going and eventually broke the game open and won," he said.
Better players for the losing side included Brazier, Riley Ika and Zachary Marrow, while for the winners, Bailey Brennan, Jeremiah Mckenzie and Reid Kuller were in brilliant form.
Martin said the fact his side were now the ladder leaders but on identical points to the Thunder and Stawell and only four points in front of the fourth-placed Ararat demonstrated the evenness of the league this year.
"The competition this year is close and it's exciting for everyone involved," he said.
"There are no easy weeks at all this year."
With that in mind, the Saints, like all other sides, will be using the off week to recover and rest.
"We'll train all the way through and keep together with some team building exercises," Martin said.