Wanderers in a hurry to shed slowcoach tag
WANDERERS stayed perfect yesterday, consigning a disappointing Tiwi Bombers to the exact opposite through three NTFL Premier League rounds.
Coach Dean Rioli revealed midweek his players’ frustration at their reputation of starting seasons slowly and they took a step towards shedding it with a 49-point defeat of Wayne Worden’s Bombers.
All the victory lacked was an exclamation point, with honours shared on the scoreboard after halftime.
“We’re lucky the first half really helped set us up, because I thought the Tiwis played the better footy after halftime,” Rioli told the NT News.
“It’s a promising sign we were able to get away to a good start and set ourselves up, but disappointing to just fade away. Even though we played some good footy, we allowed them to score a lot more than we would have liked them to.
“We’ve got a lot to work on, so it’s good if you’re not completely satisfied with the game and still get away with an almost 50-point win.”
Former Adelaide Crow Brodie Martin, a friend of Muk
“I thought the Tiwis played the better footy after halftime” WANDERERS COACH DEAN RIOLI
Muks forward Justin Smart, lobbed in Darwin on game morning after his SANFL club Sturt agreed to clear him.
Martin’s appearance was timely on a week there was a player shortage-of-sorts due to injuries and unavailability.
But Neil Vea Vea, Liam Patrick, Jarred Erlandson, Simon Bates and Aaron Motlop could be back within a fortnight to strengthen the line-up.
A slippery TIO Stadium surface made for some unsightly football early, particularly from Tiwi’s haphazard defenders, but Wanderers soon separated themselves.
Marlon Motlop, another exAFL player, and Martin led the way as the Muk Muks’ sixgoal-to-one second term put paid to the match as a contest.
Smart’s silky left foot ben- efited most from their dominance, slotting six majors. His late dribbling attempt for a seventh bounced just shy of the left goalpost.
Two marks and majors to Josh Wilson in as many minutes to begin the third quarter blew the margin out to 61 points before the Bombers’ resistance finally came.
“It’s very frustrating at the moment, because in glimpses we show we’re good enough,” Worden said. “But I’m still trying to get a four-quarter performance out of them. Once it happens, we’ll be on our way but it needs to happen.”