Machine is gearing up

THREE third-quarter goals by Jack Kluske created a mountain Wanderers couldn’t overcome in the blistering heat, as St Mary’s kicked away after halftime to win the Men’s Premier League first semi-final by 64 points.

The accurate Green Machine slotted seven unanswered goals at TIO Stadium on Saturday in the all-important premiership quarter against an injury-hit Eagles after the game was delicately poised at the long break.

Kluske’s sublime snap from the boundary line ended the contest after a brief Wanderers riposte in a momentum-shifting second term.

St Mary’s had too many answers at ground level in front of the sticks as former Eagle Joseph Salmon also bobbed up with five majors and Wanderers lost Simon Bates and Liam Patrick to injury.

Earlier, some Nate Paredes brilliance opened the Saints’ scoring, kicking the ball over his shoulder while being slung in a tackle from the goalsquare.

However, the battle quickly evened out, with both sides enjoying a solid share of forward entries.

Free kicks gift-wrapped six-pointers to Bates and Marcus Totham, before a Mitchell Taylor-guarded Jackson Calder (pictured) also got his name on the goalkicker list through a defensive infringement.

Then, in an ominous sign for the surviving Premier League finalists, the Green Machine began humming at maximum capacity, piling on five rapid-fire majors.

After the match, Salmon admitted his team had been “bullied” in a 15-point loss to Waratah last Saturday night.

In his best performance for the year, and playing deeper than normal, Salmon said he only had goals on his mind at TIO.

“I told myself during the week I had to come out and kick a bag,” he said.

“We wanted it more (today), and we put our heads over the ball. We were bullied (last week), so we had to bully Wanderers.”