Drouin produces its better form to outclass Sale
Drouin gave its season a timely shot in the arm with its best performance of the year to comfortably defeat Sale at Sale on Saturday.
The Hawks led for all except a couple of minutes midway through the first quarter to eventually score by 51 points, 12-14 to 5-5.
Drouin controlled all sectors of the ground.
The forward line was the best balanced and most potent it has been all year, the midfield players held sway and the defence was on top from start to finish.
Conditions weren’t easy; the ball and ground surface slippery but the Hawks controlled the ball well, disposed of it more effectively than they have at most times this season and adapted better to the conditions.
Drouin had not won at Sale since 2011 and had lost its previous eight games against the Magpies.
A turnaround of fortunes looked possible when it led 3-4 to 2-0 at quarter time.
Key players Dan Nicholls and Ben Hughes returned from injury, Jared Doyle replaced Luke Duffy who returned to VFL duties and Jake Harper came in for his first senior game of the year. Nicholls got Drouin rolling early with a great left foot snap goal from an angle.
He played as a permanent forward adding some real bite with three goals for the day and setting up at least another couple with his sharp movement of the ball by hand and foot.
Keegan Bott and Tom Barr, involved several times in a passage of play that started in defence, were the Hawks’ other first quarter goal scorers.
Drouin maintained the ascendancy in the second term.
Nicholls, Hughes and Todd Beck goaled to steer their side to an 18-point half time lead, 6-7 to 4-1.
Nicholls was involved again in setting up a Jordan Kingi goal to get the third term underway, Beck added another to finish a good attacking passage, Nicholls marked and kicked his third for the day and Brad Williams steered through Drouin’s fourth for the term - Sale had added only one goal - to open a decisive 10-8 to 52 break at the last change.
The final quarter was mainly played in Drouin’s half of the ground, Sale pushing virtually all of its players back.
The Hawks added 2-6 six for the quarter to Sale’s two behinds from its rare forays into attack, Drouin goals by Darcy Irwin and birthday boy David Miller capping off great games by them.
Drouin didn’t have a “passenger” on Saturday, the only downside an injury to youngster Cody Harrison (collarbone).
Hughes, Nicholls and Brod Fraser played through some pain barriers but all were great contributors, Hughes and Nicholls along with Darcy Irwin lively around the half forward line and Fraser giving dash around the ground.
Ruckman Bob McCallum again led from the front and was able to spend valuable time forward with Williams providing the ruck relief.
On-ballers Liam Axford, Steve Ballingall, Brad Virgona and Jordan Kingi all had claims to being in the Hawks’ best three players.
And the defence was outstanding.
Captain David Olsen had a field day in the backlines, helped in the last quarter by Sale bombing the ball forward enabling him to gather it ball often 20 or 30 metres in the clear and drive Drouin into attack again.
Miller put in a terrific four quarters, Damon Healy was sure and composed, James McKellar and Tom Barr eye-catching, Doyle reliable and prepared to run and Keegan Bott - moved back in the second half - repeatedly turned defence into attack.
Injuries have hampered Sale’s ability to put its best side on the field this year.
Even so the Magpies were disappointing on Saturday especially when they looked to have put the cue in the rack in the last quarter.