It’s taken most of the season to see some light at the end of the tunnel, but the Dubbo Demons are starting to get there.
The Demons came from behind in the last quarter to snatch victory by 10-points over Bathurst Bushrangers at South Dubbo Oval on Saturday.
The Central West AFL round 10 clash had both teams on equal points one win behind equal leaders Orange Tigers and Cowra Blues.
According to Dubbo coach Terry Lyons, Saturday’s game was one that could have gone either way - to his delight the Demons got up by kicking 11-8 (74) to Bathurst’s 9-10 (64).
“It’s great to win the close games, and great for the morale of the players,” Lyons said as the supporters emerged from a rowdy Demons dressing shed fresh from post-game celebrations.
“Most of the goals came from the team running north to south with the help of a stiff breeze and fortunately for us we had the last go at it.
“We were down by three going into the last quarter and two our real heroes in this period of play were Stu Gould and Rod Morrison. Both were moved into the centre and their intensity really broke the backs of the Bathurst attempts to stay in front.
“Last week against Young I thought Rod had probably his best ever game in the two seasons he’s been with us, but today he was even better.
“With that build-up important we got the goals that mattered with Luke Steinborner and Mick Haley particularly prominent.
“But overall I thought the best on field were Patrick Jackson and Luke Penrith, they were consistent all through and really did the side proud.”
Noel McGrath, Morrison and Steinborner led the scoring for the Demons with three goals each, while Haley and Pat Jackson also came up with majors. For Bathurst, Sam Morris (3) and Jacob Fox (2) were their major contributors.
Although the Demons were missing some of their more prominent players for various reasons, including Lyons himself who hopes to be back soon after several months on the sideline because of an ankle injury, the team was ready for the challenge and really proved they could win back to back flags.
Lyons conceded his players on Saturday made some mistakes, but they were more team orientated against Bathurst than in previous games and shared the ball more.
“There were a lot of good signs and I’m now hopeful we can go from strength to strength,” Lyons said.
“The scores fluctuated throughout and even when we were down, I was never concerned that it would get away from us.
“Bearing in the mind the importance of this game, and the possibility that we could finish up at the top of the competition ladder, the players threw everything into their work.
“They pulled off some nice intercepts and the smothers were effective against a Bathurst side that we know at their best can be match winners.
“To back up that good work we needed to kick goals and Noel McGrath kept us in the hunt with three early.
“It was a good win and I would now like to see us improve a little bit each week and be at our peak when the finals come around.”
On the way to the final series, the Demons still to play Cowra (away), Parkes (at Dubbo), Orange (away), Young (at home) and finish with Bathurst at Bathurst.
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