IN A contest that had been nip and tuck for the first three quarters, Strathfieldsaye pulled away from Golden Square in the final term to win its eighth game of the BFNL season on Saturday.
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It was an old-fashioned winter grind of a wet weather slog at Tannery Lane as the Storm won by 23 points after kicking the only three goals of the final term.
While the final scoreline read 8.15 (63) to 5.10 (40), it doesn't tell the tale of just how little separated the two rivals across the first three quarters on a day where goals were at a premium.
Aside from Golden Square skipping out to a 13-point lead early in the first term, once the deficit was reeled in by the Storm there was barely more than a kick in it across the second and third quarters.
Golden Square led by one point at quarter-time, 3.3 to 3.2.
Both sides scored 1.3 apiece during the second quarter, with Strathfieldsaye's goal kicked by Malik Gordon and Golden Square's by Tanner Rayner.
And in the third quarter - which had plenty of intensity to it as tempers flared throughout - the Storm scored 1.4 to the Bulldogs' 1.3.
The Bulldogs kicked the opening goal of the third term at the four-minute mark when the lively Jack Stewart marked and converted from 30m.
At that stage Stewart - who had an entertaining battle for the bulk of the day with Pat Blandford - had kicked three of Golden Square's five goals and the Bulldogs led by seven points, before a reply from the Storm's James Schischka soon after trimmed the margin back to one point.
The two sides couldn't be separated on the scoreboard at three quarter-time with scores level 5.9 apiece, but up until that stage Golden Square had looked the better side in the conditions.
The Bulldogs certainly won the territory battle across the first three quarters with more of the ball spent in their front half, but they weren't able to reflect it on the scoreboard.
And it would ultimately come back to haunt the Bulldogs as when the game was there to be taken control of in the final term, it was the Storm that pounced.
For the first 10 minutes of the final term the Storm repeatedly drove the ball inside 50 as they looked the most dangerous they had all game.
The Storm's forward 50 pressure went up a cog, but they squandered three early opportunities in front of goal, including a pair of set-shot misses to Matt Harvey and Schischka - with the Schischka miss Strathfieldsaye's seventh-consecutive behind.
The ball spent the first 10 minutes of the final term in the Storm front half before Golden Square was able to generate its first forward 50 entry.
However, the Bulldogs were unable to turn their forward 50 into a score and instead the Storm were able to produce one of the plays of the day when they cleared the ball from defence, midfielder Daniel Clohesy - who was an in-and-under workhorse all game as he thrived in the conditions - kicked the ball inside 50 where teenager Jed Daniels was able to use his blistering pace to run onto it and goal from 30m out.
Daniels' goal gave the Storm a nine-point advantage and when Zach Charles and Darcy Mulquiny both nailed set-shots soon after, Strathfieldsaye had kicked three goals in six minutes having previously kicked just five across the first 99 minutes of the contest.
Those three goals between the 11 and 17-minute marks by the Storm were the only three goals kicked in the final term, which was controlled by Strathfieldsaye.
The impressive finish to the game after it had been in the balance at three quarter-time was all the more meritorious for the Storm given the way they had fallen away late against Sandhurst three weeks earlier the last time they had been involved in a contest that was still there to be won in the final term.
"It was just an arm-wrestle all day... we put it on the boys at three quarter-time and the way we were able to sustain our effort in that last quarter was super impressive," Storm coach Luke Freeman said.
"Once we kicked those couple of goals clear we were able to really tighten the clamps and it became a game again where it was really tough to score.
"It was a mix of youth and experience getting the job done. I thought it was really good to see so many young players out on the field today across both sides just slugging it out."
Strathfieldsaye's win increases the Storm's buffer inside the top three to three games, while fifth-placed Golden Square is now just one game clear of the chasing Castlemaine, with the two sides to meet next round.
"There was momentum in the third quarter both ways and neither side took advantage of it, but in the last quarter we just got caught up a bit in a couple of umpiring decisions, the boys let their emotions get the better of them and Strath settled better," Golden Square coach Brad Eaton said.
"They outworked us around the footy in the last quarter and we lost a bit of structure. It was disappointing to not be able to play the same style of game in the last quarter that would have kept it a close battle, but there were still some really good signs."
The Bulldogs side included their 12th debutant for the season in defender Melvic Pambai, who equipped himself well on a tough day to be playing his first senior game given the taxing conditions and featured among the best players that were headed by class on-baller Ricky Monti.
"Melvic certainly showed that he's up to the standard. He reads the ball well and doesn't waste the footy too much... I thought he was very impressive first-up," Eaton said.
Strathfieldsaye 3.2 4.5 5.9 8.15 (63)
Golden Square 3.3 4.6 5.9 5.10 (40)
GOALS: Strathfieldsaye: J.Daniels 2, J.Schischka 2, D.Mulquiny 1, A.Sheahan 1, Z.Charles 1, M.Gordon 1. Golden Square: J.Stewart 3, M.Eaton 1, T.Rayner 1.
BEST: Strathfieldsaye: D.Clohesy, P.Blandford, B.Stevens, L.Ratcliffe, C.Jones, T.Hosking. Golden Square: R.Monti, J.Stewart, M.Pambai, L.Holt, L.Humphrey, T.Rayner.
