Kingston helped themselves to a massive percentage-boosting victory on Saturday when they defeated Naracoorte by 192 points.
The Saints were in full control of the contest right from the opening bounce. The Saints piled on nine opening quarter goals and held Naracoorte scoreless. Todd Lockwood kicked four opening quarter goals as he was leading well. Tyler Baker looked dangerous in the air as he took mark after mark and kicked two goals. Zac Hatch, Ben Warner and Alex Barns added singles during the quarter as Kingston dominated. Hagan Wright, Ben Warner, Thomas Matsouliadis and William Watts kept getting the ball and pumping it forward as the Saints set up many chances to score. Kingston led by 61 points at quarter time.
Naracoorte brought the heat more in the second quarter as they looked to be more defensive during the quarter. Kingston was still able to set up scoring chances as they got goals through Thomas Matsouliadis, Todd Lockwood and Tyler Baker to stretch the lead. Hagan Wright, Harry Tunkin, William Watts and Campbell Watts continued to win the ball and drive it forward for the Saints. Naracoorte worked the ball forward and was able to get their first goal of the game through Zac Walker. Dylan Albrecht, Ryan Zerk and Alex Ridding were competing hard for the Demons. The goal was a good reward for effort for the young Demons. Kingston locked on again as Todd Lockwood kicked his sixth goal and Tyler Baker put through his fourth goal as the Saints stretched the margin out to 89 points. Hagan Wright was everywhere for Kingston gathering disposals. Ben Warner, William Watts and Campbell Watts were everywhere as well as the Saints tried to run and spread the ball around. Alex Barns was also running around and proving hard for the Demons to cover and stop. Kingston had an 89-point lead at halftime.
Naracoorte continued to put up some good defence around the ground, but Kingston’s clean skills opened them up throughout the game. Tyler Baker led the scoring to start the fourth quarter as he kicked two goals in a row. Todd Lockwood and Luke Watson added to the Saints’ scoring total as they had most of the ball in the third quarter again. Tyler Baker scored his seventh goal as Kingston held a 126-point lead at the final change. The work from the Saints’ midfield was great as they kept the ball mostly in the home team’s front half of the ground.
Kingston turned on the scoring jets in the final quarter as the Saints kicked eleven goals during the quarter. A highlight for the Saints was seeing Ryan Clarke kick two goals in his 200th milestone game for Kingston during the fourth quarter. Tyler Baker kicked his eighth goal in a great performance. The Saints team was humming along. Naracoorte kept trying and fighting and was able to add another goal to their tally as Dylan Albrecht was able to score for the Demons. Kingston kept pushing hard and cracked the 200-point mark as Chris Draper put through the Saints’ last goal to put the home team over the magic milestone number. It was a strong victory for Kingston as they kept their unbeaten record intact.
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