Dragons fire in the rain

BELL Park claimed the big scalp it had been searching for, defying a resurgent St Mary’s and torrential rain to hold on for a tight 9.9 ( 63) to 7.16 ( 58) victory.

Having fallen short against the top teams this season, the Dragons gritted their teeth in the second half against a home side that was on a five- game winning streak.

“We’ve probably beaten the teams we needed to,” Bell Park co- coach Shane Jack said as the Dragons moved eight points clear inside the top five.

“We fell short against Newtown and Colac, and Joeys gave us a good touch up, so I felt we needed to take a big scalp and St Mary’s have been playing good footy for the last five weeks.

“It’s a challenge to come here and win, and with the conditions the way they were, it was a slog.

“We did that and it was a really pleasing victory in the end. The group needed to beat a really good team, and that’s what St Mary’s are.”

Bell Park enjoyed a dominant second quarter, slamming on six goals to lead by 27 points at halftime in what proved to be the pivotal quarter of the match.

St Mary’s responded with four goals in the third term to remarkably lead by two points at the final change.

But as the rain got heavier, Bell Park got better.

First, Nik Rokahr kicked truly from long distance amid lashing rain to retake the lead in the final quarter, only for St Mary’s to reply quickly through Harry McMahon’s soccered goal.

Then Bell Park co- captain Jackson Bright stepped up to the challenge, snapping from a tight angle after a deliberateout- of- bounds call to give the Dragons the lead again.

“They were going to challenge us and I said that last time about them, they’ve got some good mids and a good ruckman,” Jack said of St Mary’s.

“To hold fat and then come back and hit the front again, that was the most pleasing thing out of the day.

“( Rokahr) ‘ Roks’ kicked a really good goal when it was raining heavily. The boys kept plugging away and I can’t be prouder.”

Lachie Patten ( two goals) was again prolific in midfield alongside Boe Collins, while Cooper Jones and Kyle O’Connor ( two goals) were constant threats up forward.

“We’ve got a big three weeks coming up after the bye with Leopold, Joeys and South, so this gives the boys a lot of confidence going into that,” Jack said.