Seagulls Remain Undefeated

INVERLOCH KONGWAK headed down the highway to face another huge challenge, this time against the undefeated ladder-leaders Tooradin-Dalmore.

Both sides came out looking to take it on and play free flowing football to start the match, as Ethan Park drew first blood for IK in perfect conditions.

But it was the home side who replied with the next two majors to light up the crowd.

Through the first 15 minutes the two top four hopefuls were quite even across the ground, until Stewart Scanlon broke the brief deadlock from stoppage, the Seagulls’ third unanswered.

The visitors eventually found their groove with a trademark end-to-end play finding Tristan Van Driel for his first, sparking his side with a vocal celebration.

The ‘Gulls kept peppering the stout IK back six, who were good enough to repel on multiple occasions but failed to transport the ball into their own forward half.

The IK midfielders were finding their feet and their defence was up to the task as they tied up the scoring with another major, raising the heat back up in the contest.

As scoring began to open up, Oscar Toussaint showed more of his superstar skillset, feeding Dylan Clark with sensational quick handpass to lead him to his first major, tying it up again.

Clark swapped into the ruck and immediately had an impact, his class shining through with a beautiful pickup and long kick to Garnham, who found Van Driel for his second.

The second half began with the Sea Eagles finding repeat inside 50s and tensions flaring thanks to a controversial call which led to a missed chance.

Brent Macaffer finally broke the brief stalemate, opening goal scoring in the third term, gifting his team a 2-point lead but they did not retain the lead for long.

IK finding the instant reply thanks to some magnificent play from their star ruckman Marcus Toussaint, who was having a great day despite missing his usual ruck partner Clint McCaughan.

A costly 50-metre penalty at the centre stoppage led to Park’s second of the game, lifting the Sea Eagle faithful once again, the visitors showing real signs of belief.

After another brief stalemate with tension rising amongst the home crowd, the Seagulls missing chances, until an IK turnover led to young star James Tresize’s first.

From here, the Tooradin-Dalmore run and pressure continued to create IK turnovers and open the game up in their favour, converting a second straight major to retake the lead.

Despite showing belief and dominating play early in the term, IK surrendered their lead and went into the final break an even two goals adrift.

The visitors started hot in the fourth quarter, with the first inside 50, but it was the Seagulls who found the quarter’s first major thanks to a lucky crumb.

Inverloch-Kongwak continued to believe however, peppering their scoring half creating many opportunities but unfortunately catching the inaccuracy bug, missing them all.

Garnham and Joe Soumilas attempted to spark their side with huge grabs, as tensions flared around the ground and the umpires did their best to control the commotion, IK missed again.

The hosts found Liam Adams who was able to push the door closed with a huge goal, the Sea Eagles now needing four goals to win it, with 15 minutes played.

As they had all day, the Seagulls surged the ball forward with pace and accuracy, this time finding Scanlon for the sealer.

IK made sure the never let up, giving all their effort, but to no avail as Tresize bagged his second, extending his side’s lead to 31 points with under eight minutes to go.

In the end, the Sea Eagles battled hard but were their own worst enemy, committing too many skills errors.

Tooradin Dalmore were good enough to make them pay, running out comfortable 37-point winners.

For the Seagulls, they will look to continue their unbeaten run on the road against Bunyip next weekend, while for IK, they face Kilcunda-Bass at home.