A SEVEN-goal to nil second quarter proved the catalyst for Gisborne's 35-point victory over Eaglehawk in the BFNL on Saturday.
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The Bulldogs ticked off their fourth consecutive win with their 14.13 (97) to 9.8 (62) triumph over the Hawks, whose defeat was compounded by the reports of two players.
The Hawks at far from full strength were already up against it facing one of the season's power sides, let alone having to do it with just 17 on the field twice throughout the game.
Eaglehawk had forward Jonty Neaves reported (striking) and yellow carded midway through the second quarter, but he won't miss any games after receiving a reprimand post-match.
And then a minute after Neaves returned to the ground wingman Brady Rowles was also reported and sent off during the third quarter and has been offered a one-match suspension for striking.
Across the two periods of the game in which Eaglehawk was down to 17 on the field Gisborne outscored the Hawks 50-22 - 30-8 while Neaves was off and 20-14 when Rowles was out of the game.
One of the key focus areas for the Hawks leading into the game was preventing the Bulldogs from getting away to another flying start like they had done to Golden Square in the first quarter the previous week.
The Hawks certainly achieved that first goal and in what was an encouraging start led by 10 points at quarter-time.
The Hawks brought the required heat to the contest and kicking with the aid of the breeze took the game on as epitomised by Clayton Holmes' three bounces out of defence and long kick inside 50 that resulted in Darcy Richards kicking the first goal of the match.
Richards provided a strong forward presence in the first quarter for the Hawks having three shots at goal for a return of 2.1, while through the middle of the ground Gisborne ruckman Braidon Blake's ability to grab the ball out of ruck duels and get the clearance was a common sight.
After missing their first three chances it wasn't until the 23-minute mark of the opening term through Harry Luxmoore that the Bulldogs kicked their first goal of the match.
That was answered by a perfectly weighted set shot from 40m out on the flank by Richards - who kicked four for the match - that gave the Hawks a 10-point advantage at quarter-time, 3.1 to 1.3.
All signs at quarter-time pointed to the Hawks looking capable of providing a genuine challenge to their more fancied opponents, but by half-time the dynamic of the game had turned on its head.
A combination of the Bulldogs kicking into gear coupled with a number of errors from the Hawks put the game well in control of the visitors by the main break.
Utilising their turn with the breeze to the Simpsons Road end the Bulldogs assumed control out of the middle, winning the centre clearances 6-2, and with their midfield-forward connection significantly better from the first term were able to regularly spot up targets inside 50.
The Bulldogs booted 7.4 to 0.3 during the second term to go from 10 points down at quarter-time to 33 up at half-time.
There were several telling moments in the second quarter that proved decisive in the Bulldogs gaining the upper hand.
The first was at the five-minute mark when the Hawks' Neaves took a strong contested pack mark 15m out directly in front.
Neaves had the chance to put the Hawks 16 points up, but his set-shot missed and after the Bulldogs transitioned the ball from their defence Pat McKenna goaled down the other end in what was a two-goal swing.
Soon after a turnover at half-back after the Hawks' Bailey Ilsley shanked a short pass opened the door for best-on-ground Brad Bernacki to hit-up Luxmoore, who kicked his second goal to give the Bulldogs the lead, which they wouldn't surrender for the rest of the game, before he added a third a minute later on the way to a match-haul of four.
Then at the 15-minute mark with the surging Gisborne ahead by 11 points and the Hawks' Joel Mullen lining up for a shot 40m out came the Neaves yellow card in the goalsquare, which as well as reducing the home side to 17 players for 15 minutes also denied Mullen the shot.
Three minutes later the Hawks' Corey Roberts gave away a downfield free kick, which gifted Zac Denahy the first of his three goals and then to close out a quarter in which it all went pear shaped for Eaglehawk, Ilsley hit the post after marking deep in attack and playing on.
Both sides kicked six goals apiece in the second half, while the Hawks did win the final quarter kicking against the breeze, but it was that 30 minutes during the second term where the game was ultimately decided.
"I was pretty honest with the boys in terms of how bitterly disappointed I was and I think they would share the same view in terms of it was always going to be a hard ask today to play Gisborne and the fact that we come in at quarter-time in front and in control of the game and then it's a second quarter riddled with acts of poor discipline that flowed into the third quarter," Hawks coach Travis Matheson said.
"We showed in the first and last quarter when we played with 18 that we won both those quarters, but a lot of today falls back onto the errors that we made.
"Overall we're bitterly disappointed with how we presented ourselves in crucial moments today."
Conversely, Gisborne coach Rob Waters was pleased with the way his side was able to assume control during the second term after being outplayed early.
"Eaglehawk came out hard in that first quarter and we turned the footy over... I would hate to have been a lead-up forward for us in that first quarter," Waters said.
"We reset and I thought we came out and played our best quarter of the game in the second and were able to get the game going our way.
"We hit up targets in our forward line in that second quarter and scored accordingly."
The Bulldogs - who had a spread of nine goalkickers - are now set to lose the duo of wingman Sam Graham and defender Liam Spear for an extended period as they head overseas.
MATCH DETAILS
Gisborne Seniors 1.3 8.7 12.10 14.13 (97)
Eaglehawk Seniors 3.1 3.4 6.5 9.8 (62)
GOALS: Gisborne Seniors: H.Luxmoore 4, Z.Denahy 3, M.Merrett 1, P.McKenna 1, F.Lakey 1, J.Scanlon 1, B.Bernacki 1, D.Young 1, J.Cardillo 1; Eaglehawk Seniors: D. Richards 4, B.Thompson 2, J.Mullen 1, J.Neaves 1, B.Mcgregor 1.
BEST: Gisborne Seniors: B.Bernacki, H.Luxmoore, B.Blake, Z.Vescovi, L.Spear, M.Lord; Eaglehawk Seniors: C.Langford, B.Thompson, B.Evans, C.Holmes, M.Angove, D.Richards.
