Redland stuns Canberra as veterans farewelled in style

The Redland Bombers have stunned the Canberra Demons for a second time in 2019 to finish their season a high in front of home fans with a 21-point win at Scottsdale Park.

The home side were flying in the last quarter, kicking six goals to nil to record a 17.8 (110) to 13.11 (89) victory in what was retiring pair Phil Carse and Tom Salter’s final NEAFL appearances.

Carse said it was a great way for Redland to finish off the year with a win at home, and on a personal note to go out on.

“It has been a pretty special day to be honest,” he told neafl.com.au. “It's certainly something that I won’t forget.

“I would always love to still be playing at this time of the year and through September but it has probably been more about us this year setting a platform for 2020 and turning the tide.

“Me and ‘Salts’ are really appreciative that we have been a part of that - it was just a fantastic note to go out on.”

The Demons were on the back foot early with two late withdrawals and then found themselves on the receiving end of another nightmare start.

The Bombers were controlling possession early finding uncontested marks around the ground easily.

As quickly as the Bombers were able to build a deficit, Canberra were able to launch themselves into gear to kick four of the next five goals, giving Redland the edge with a one-point quarter time lead.

Damian Steven and Hayden Bertoli-Simmonds were massive for the Bombers through the middle of the ground collecting 54 disposals between them. Steven also went on to collect four tackles, six clearances and six inside 50s.

The Bombers were looking dangerous again to start the second and converted through a Jai Kennealy major.

The Demons were looking a different side to the one that defeated Aspley last week and were going to need to lift to get back in the game.

Take hold of the match, that’s exactly what the visitors did with a flurry of five straight goals to hold a 23-point margin halfway through the second.

The usual suspects for Canberra through the middle of the ground put their best work on display as Mitch Maguire, Angus Baker and Alex Smout collected 28, 27 and 26 disposals respectively.

To start the second half, both sides traded goals were looking evenly match to start the third term.

Three goals down midway through the third, the Bombers were looking and needed a spark.

Cue retiring playing-coach Carse who stepped up to the plate. Carse was able to kick two quick blows when his side really needed it.

Carse was proud of the way his side needed to respond to the challenge, and didn’t mind getting on the end of a couple goals.

“I haven’t kicked a goal all year so that was nice to put one through from an individual perspective,” he said.

“To be honest I think we stemmed the flow of their momentum in the last 10 minutes of the second quarter.

“We just slowed the game down a little bit and we didn’t let Canberra have as much easy ball out the back which was just an enormous effort.”

Rising star of the competition Angus Baker was able to land one back for the Demons to hold a steady two goal lead at the final break.

Redland were absolute dynamite in the last quarter, as they stacked on six unanswered goals in the final term.

Redland’s two big forwards Matt Hammelmann and Clay Cameron came up trumps in the last quarter to seal their third win of the year.

Meanwhile the Demons have plenty to ponder over the summer period in a season that could have been for the young side.

Canberra also farewelled Sam Martyn, Ben Halse and Tom Faul, who announced pre-match that this would be his last NEAFL game.

The Demons and Bombers ended up eighth and ninth on the ladder respectively.

Redland Bombers v Canberra Demons at Scottsdale Park

REDLAND 4.2 7.3 11.6 17.8 (110)
CANBERRA 4.1 10.5 13.7 13.11 (89)

GOALS – Redland: M Hammelmann 4 C Cameron 4 P Carse 2 W Johnson J Kennealy D Marsh S Ryan C Spence M Thomson P Yagmoor. Canberra: A Kinasch 3 H Carr 2 R Corbett 2 J Harper A Baker L Meline J Powell A Smout A Swan.
BEST – Redland: D Steven H Bertoli-Simmonds M Hammelmann A Christensen L O’Sullivan C Cameron. Canberra: A Baker L Meline R Corbett M Maguire S Martyn A Kinasch.

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