THE Wayback Demons' all over class proved to be too strong for a determined and learning Tasman Roosters team when the Demons took over in the second half to win by 56 points at Ravendale on Friday night.
While it was a convincing win, the Roosters toughed the game out and in the first two quarters showed they can play with the best when they got the margin to within two points late in the second quarter.
The turning point came late in the second quarter when Tasman's Calvin Daniels was given a yellow card and 10 minutes in the sin bin, and the Demons were awarded a free kick in the forward pocket which resulted in a goal, and then that player was given another free kick at goals because of the report but failed to really punish the Roosters with his second shot. A late goal by Michael Sara saw the Roosters' hard work was all undone and they went into the long break trailing by 14 points.
While Tasman had their own self made problems, Wayback had problems when Murray Kelsh was replaced in the first quarter, believed to have again injured an ankle, and this saw half forward Rohan Montgomerie move to the wing and Dene Rood come off the bench and play up forward.
The first half saw the league's biggest improver, Tasman ruckman Jake Stoll, give his team every chance at first use, which resulted in Jarred Milton giving the Rooster supporters the first cheering rights with the first goal of the night.
Brad Masters ran hot early for the Roosters and he was prominent right throughout the game to be best for his team, while Wayback's Rory Hunt found plenty of the ball, along with the two Matts - Keatley in the midfield and Goodwin playing up forward and in the centre.
After the first goal by the Roosters the Demons responded with four goals, but a late goal by the Roosters' Brett Cunningham kept them in touch, however the warning bells were now ringing and the Demons' structure was continually testing out the Roosters.
The second quarter was even with three goals each, and apart from the Daniels incident in the last minutes of play, the Roosters' continued improvement in their young players was there for all to see.
The intensity from both teams was of equal input, the tackling fierce and plenty of talk added to the spice of the game, and all in all the first half was an even contest.
The Demons went up a gear or two in the third quarter and Tasman simply could not meet the challenge with only 17 players on the field for the six minutes.
While the Roosters could not kick a goal, credit must be given to the back half with Craig Riencke and Mike Orbons, playing strongly in his first league game, working hard to keep the Demons at bay.
Michael Sara had a purple patch to kick two goals out of the 14 entries into the scoring zone, and when Tasman went forward the Demons had the brick wall across half back during the third quarter.
The last quarter was a simply a matter of the Demons doing what they had done in the third quarter. The sting had gone out of the game and they kicked three goals through Vogelsanger for his second and one each to Goodwin and Clayton Millard.
The Roosters have faced a lot of criticism but their effort, although well beaten, showed they are not far off playing four quarters of football and as a group they must gather every week and use that criticism as motivation.
Wayback had several good players with Rory Hunt and the two Mathews - Goodwin and Keatley - and the Demon supporters may have well been saying "thank heavens for those three".
It will be interesting to read Wayback coach Scott Clark's after game comments on what was far from an inspiring effort.
The Demons' next game after Mortlock is against Mallee Park, and one way or another it will show where the Demons stand in defence of their premiership.
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