Keith proved too strong for Kingston on Saturday at Gall Park. The Crows overcame a fast start by the Saints to record a big victory as they look to cement a spot inside the top three when the Finals come around.
The Saints got the jump on the Crows in the first quarter as they kicked the opening three goals of the game. James Siviour, George Brice-Marwood and Ben Warner got on to the goal kicking list in the first quarter for the Saints. Jack Armfield, Chris Draper and Ben Warner were getting of the ball early in the game. Keith steadied as Riley Wilsdon got the Crows first goal on the board. Travis Wilson, Cameron Craig and George Johnson helped get the Crows back into the game. The Saints went into quarter time 13 points ahead.
The Crows had the breeze in the second quarter and the visitors took advantage of it to get on top in the contest. Goals from Lewis Hender, Blake Read (twice), Will Schreiber and Riley Wilsdon during the second quarter had helped turn a quarter time deficit of 13 points into a 20 point lead by half time for the Crows. The Crows worked hard to turn the game around. Aydon Innes, Jonathon Wilson and Will Schreiber were playing good football for the Crows. The margin might have been bigger if it wasn't for the great defensive work from Kingston defender Ben Rogers who was in form and taking one grab marks in defence. Chris Draper helped with the clearing defensive kicks for the Saints. The Crows went into the half time break with all the momentum.
Kingston tried to get back into the game when they started the third quarter with lots of run and carry from the midfield. James Siviour kicked an early goal for the Saints as the home team was putting the pressure on the Crows. Jack Armfield was getting plenty of the ball for the Saints. Ethan Murdock provided lots of run and Tom Rogers was getting the hard ball and clearing it the Saints way. Kingston had a great patch of the play but couldn't convert it into goals. The Saints kicked points and couldn't kick goals during their dominance of the ball. Cameron Craig was patrolling the defence for the Crows as he did a few things to make it hard for the Saints to get good looks at goal. Keith got the ball out of their defensive half and down forward where Riley Wilsdon kicked a goal to stretch the margin to 17 points. Both teams had chances late to add a goal on to the scoreboard but could only register points as the Crows entered three quarter time with a 17 point lead.
Keith put the foot down in the fourth quarter as their class started to show through. Will Schreiber got the first goal of the fourth quarter and set up the second for Daniel Bibby to convert as the Crows opened up a 30 point lead early in the fourth quarter. Riley Wilsdon continued to be a problem for the Saints. Riley hit a purple patch where he kicked four goals in a row as the Crows were looking to build percentage up. The Crows players were running hard as George Johnson, Travis Wilson, Cameron Craig and Aydon Innes were in many of the plays that set up the shots on goal. Kingston's Ben Rogers, Chris Draper and Tom Rogers were trying hard to hold up defensively for Kingston. Aaron Young joined the goal kicking party for Keith as the Crows ran the game out and ended up winning by 61 points.
Keith strengthened their double chance chances after the victory and will again be featuring in the finals. Kingston won't be playing finals but have a few more games to try and get some more wins before the season ends.
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