Football
27 May, 2025
Stawell storm home to vanquish Demons
Stawell recorded the biggest win of round six of the Wimmera Football Netball League, defeating the Demons 23.16 (153) to 9.6 (60).
The Horsham side held the lead after the first quarter by five points, but were down by 35 by half-time.
That gap decreased marginally to 30 points heading into the last quarter, but a big final term from Stawell saw them run out 94-point winners.
It was despite the best efforts of Benjamin Janetzki and Zak Smith, who tried their hardest for the Demons, along with Brad Hartigan, Jasper Gunn and Matthew Long, who kept the score ticking along for the Horsham side, each with a couple of majors.
For the winning team, Paul Summers continued with his brilliance in the forward line, booting 10 goals, while Jakob Salmi was another good player for Stawell.
Coach of Stawell, James Sullivan, said it was the first time his side had put together a four-quarter performance this season.
"We've been strong in patches but we have let ourselves down in other quarters, or periods of quarters," he said.
"We were focusing on ourselves and wanting to put together that four-quarter performance, and I believe we did that.
"We had a contribution that was even across the board and got a good result."
Asked what a four-quarter performance looked like for his side, Sullivan said it came down to their contest and pressure.
"We speak about the different phases of the game, obviously when we have the footy but then also when we don't have the ball, and when we don't have the ball we need to make sure our pressure is up," he said.
"We obviously put a lot of work into that area and I think it's something our game comes off the back of.
"On Saturday, I thought the boys brought the heat early, kicking against the breeze in that first quarter, and I think we ended up having more inside 50s in that quarter so I was pleased with the start.
"From there, we were able to get our game going in the second and get a bit of a lead going into the break."
The lead and end margin were bolstered by another giant effort from Summers, with 10 goals.
"He competed well for us up forward and, as I have said in the past, our big boys up forward are a bit of a strength of ours and they are still working on that cohesion but they are getting better each week," Sullivan said.
"In modern footy, any time you can kick 10, it's a pretty good effort."
Sullivan was also pleased with Salmi, who was best on ground for his side.
"We spoke with him early and we wanted him to lead our midfield group – I think we have been beaten across the last couple of weeks in that area," Sullivan said."
"But on Saturday he was super from the word go around the ball and got quite a few clearances and set us up early.
"His work rate was great both ways: you saw him chasing the bloke down 10 metres off the goal line in defence but then working back the other way and getting on a few as well.
"He really set the scene for us through the middle and set us up well for the day."