by Murray Silby
A nine-goal Matt Hammelmann master class has ensured Redland’s love affair with Alice Springs has continued as the Bombers racked up their second victory in three years over NT Thunder in Central Australia on Saturday night, 17.11 (118) to 12.11 (83).
The 35-point win in Round 4 of the NEAFL season came on the back of some powerful work by Redland’s big three – Hammelmann, acting captain and key forward Jackson Paine and ruckman Craig Malone.
Add to their brute force the skill and guile of Jack Rolls around the ground, Aaron Christenson in the forward half and the leadership of Peter Yagmoor in defence and the Bombers were superb in recording their first victory of the season.
A blackout late in the third term turned Traeger Park to darkness and although play resumed some 12 minutes later the evening only got dimmer for Thunder.
Redland kicked 10 goals to Thunder’s four in the second half, including seven to Hammelmann in the third term.
The only other quarter he managed to kick a major was the two he kicked in the second term. So for a half of football the former Brisbane Lion was held goal-less, but in the other half he kicked nine goals and took the match away from Thunder.
Neither team was able to gain a clear advantage in a low-scoring opening term of end-to-end football.
Both teams were employing a run and carry mentality with quick handballs and short passes the order of the play and with the half-back lines of both sides having most say in the play.
Some missed opportunities by Redland when kicking for goal meant the margin was just eight points to the visitors’ advantage at the first change.
The second term opened up a little with Thunder able to add six goals to the Bombers’ three to take an 11-point lead into the long break.
Many of the home side’s most dangerous forwards, the likes of Darren Ewing, Adam Sambono, Ross Tungatalum (2) and Hugo Drogemuller all contributed goals, along with Chris Williams who managed to get himself on the end of a Tungatalum bullet before scoring from the set shot.
Meanwhile, defenders Kaine Riley, Joe Anderson and Jack Long were turning defence into attack.
Although big Redland forwards Paine and Hammelmann were proving to be difficult to counter with Hammelmann, the league’s leading goal-kicker adding his two and Paine one for the term.
Further up the field, however, Thunder’s onballers in Jarrod Stokes and Matt Campbell were getting their fair share of possession and home-town hero and acting captain Abraham Ankers was starting to come into the match.
None of that was an indicator of what was to come in the third term however.
The Bombers were able to turn a nine-point half-time deficit into an 11-point lead at three-quarter-time on the back of Hammelmann’s brilliant seven goal burst.
With Paine roaming further up the field, Hammelmann was left to patrol the 50-metre arc and patrol he did, like a hungry Doberman at feeding time.
He led, marked, roved and continuously goaled.
Whether it was from a tight angle near the boundary, off the ground or roving the ball over the back, he was untouchable.
Any fightback the local Thunder fans had hoped for didn’t come in the final term either as Redland added a further four goals, two of them to Aaron Christensen, to Thunder’s single, from the boot of Cameron Ilett.
After a promising start to the season with two wins in the first two rounds, including a victory over reigning premier Brisbane, Thunder coach Andrew Hodges said it was disappointing to drop the next two matches, especially after a promising first half against Redland.
“We could have gone on with it, but we just got comfortable so it’s really disappointing,” Hodges said.
“It started right at the end of the third quarter. Hammelman kicked seven in the third quarter, he kicked nine for the game so we just don’t react to those things quick enough.
“A really poor effort across the board so I think it was just a choice thing. We didn’t work hard enough when it mattered.”
Hodges said the lengthy delay during the third term caused by the blackout wasn’t why his side lost the game, but his players didn’t handle it well.
“We didn’t respond to it well,” he suggested. “They responded better, but at the end of the day they just worked harder than we did when it mattered.”
It’s the third year in succession that Thunder has lost in Alice Springs after losses to Southport last year and Redland the year before and Hodges said his players had hoped to put on a better show for local fans this time around.
“We had a good week,” he said. “We prepared really well. We changed a few things. The bottom line is Redland just played better than us.
“It was disappointing. We wanted to come down here and put on a good show and for parts of the game we did and for other parts we weren’t up to it.”
A bye next round will give Thunder a chance to regroup before travelling to take on Southport in Round 6.
NT THUNDER: 2.1, 8.5, 11.8, 12.11 (83)
REDLAND: 3.3, 6.6, 13.7, 16.11 (112)
GOALS: NT Thunder – Ross Tungatalum 4, Darren Ewing 2, Cameron Ilett 2, Adam Sambono 2, Hugo Drogemuller, Chris Williams.
Redland – Matt Hammelmann 9, Aaron Christenson, Jackson Paine 3, Ryan Dadds.
BEST: NT Thunder – Chris Williams, Joe Anderson, Jarrod Stokes, Kaine Riley, Ross Tungatalum, Adam Sambono.
Redland – Matt Hammelmann, Jack Rolls, Jackson Paine, Craig Malone, Peter Yagmoor, Aaron Christenson, Damian Steven