YARTAPUULTI has won its second match of the SANFL First Nations Round against Woodville-West Torrens off the back of a scintillating final quarter.
The rainy and muddy conditions provided a see-sawing contest for the first three quarters of the match, before the class and endurance of the Magpies secured a 36-point victory.
While Yartapuulti was not on top of their game at the beginning of the match, coach Tyson Goldsack was pleased with the hard work of the team to gain control of the contest.
“There were things we knew weren’t quite at the top of our game in certain areas but we just kind of reiterated the importance of a couple of certain points and the guys went about their business after that,” he said.
“I said after the game it was about as comprehensive game of football, keeping in mind with what we wanted to do, as we've seen this year.
“Just the consistency from contest to contest from every player.”
Goldsack named Dante Visentini (29 hit outs, 18 disposals, five clearances, five i50s) as the strongest player in the match, but also praised the unified performance of the team.
“It was probably not a game suited for a guy [Visentini’s] size you wouldn’t think but he was our best today I thought, for what he brought on the air and in the ground,” he said.
“You're splitting hairs a little bit between the top three (today in Visentini, Jackson Mead and Jase Burgoyne) and the next eight under that I think.
“There were just guys playing a really good game of football and that's what it took out there today.
“The conditions were what we enjoy - contested footy and just turn up for four quarters, so it was great.”
Yartapuulti opened the scoring in the first minute of the contest, as Nathan Barkla made the most of a quick Magpies’ centre clearance.
Both teams traded scores for the rest of the quarter, with the Eagles heading into quarter-time holding a slender lead.
Woodville-West Torrens began the second quarter strongly with two goals, before Yartapuulti steadied with two goals in 30 seconds.
The Magpies controlled proceedings for the rest of the half, regaining the lead as they headed into the main break.
Burgoyne provided one of the highlights of the game in the first minute of the third term, beginning the quarter with an exciting snap goal.
The Eagles responded to once again level the score, before Francis Evans and Murphy Short both goaled to set up an exciting final quarter.
Everything went the way of Yartapuulti in the last term, with the Magpies holding Woodville-West Torrens scoreless while dominating the contest to secure victory.
Goldsack reflected on the team’s strength in final quarters, mentioning multiple reasons behind the success.
“We know we've got an elite level of fitness from the AFL perspective,” he said.
“The Maggies players have a certain amount of heart about them and they're pretty proud about what they stand for and we lean on that quite a bit and what do we want to bring to the table.
“Effort is our thing…and a want to compete. From an AFL perspective, it's guys that are keen to get on the senior team, so they know they need to keep working and keep putting themselves up for selection so it's a nice situation to be in.”
Yartapuulti will play North Adelaide next Saturday at 2:10pm at Alberton Oval.
Scoreboard
Port Adelaide 2.2 6.4 10.5 13.10 (88)
WWT Eagles 3.1 5.4 8.4 8.4 (52)
Goals: Evans 3, Barkla 2, Burgoyne, Carter, Dumont, Kirk, Mead, Scully, Short, Visentini.
Best: Visentini, Mead, Burgoyne, Kirk, Evans.
