Redland stuns Canberra to win first game at home since 2017

The Redland Bombers have given home fans something to cheer about with Saturday afternoon’s 60-point drubbing of the Canberra Demons, ending a 616-day drought of home wins.

The Bombers led from start to finish and held the Demons scoreless in the last to record an emphatic 17.9 (111) to 7.9 (51) victory at Scottsdale Park.

Coach Phil Carse played his first game for the Bombers since 2014, and while he didn’t think much of his own on-field performance, calling it, “very scratchy to be honest,” he was delighted with the all-round team effort on display.

“We had a plan we wanted to execute, and that was pressure around the ball-carrier and that ability to spread the field, and I thought we did it really well pretty much for the duration of the game,” he told neafl.com.au.

“Like I said to the boys, I didn’t think it was any individuals in particular going above and beyond, it was about a team effort and everyone playing their role and absolutely thrilled with the boys.”

A healthy crowd had reason to celebrate with the mammoth win, Carse showed his appreciation of the loyal Bombers supporter-base.

“It feels fantastic from our perspective, but the main thing is just to bring the music back for the supporters and the community,” he said.

“They’ve turned out in big numbers today to support us, and we want to give them something to be proud of when we rock up every week.”

Key forward Matt Hammelmann echoed Carse’s sentiments post-match.

“The fans have always come to support us every week throughout last year and this year, so it’s good to get a win to reward them,” he said.

Hammelmann, last year’s NEAFL Leading Goalkicker Award winner, had a stellar second quarter, slotting four of his five goals in 10 minutes that defined the remainder of the match.

With a five-point lead at quarter time, the Bombers piled on six goals and conceded only two, with the second half panning out goal-for-goal.

Jack Rolls lead the way for the home side with his 21 touches, five tackles and eight clearances accompanied by plenty of dash through the middle.

Similarly, Redland big man Craig ‘Tiny’ Malone dominated the ruck contest for the second week in a row, with his 54 hit-outs dwarfing Canberra’s combined count of 19.

Sam Cunnington (three goals), Clay Cameron (four goals) and Tom Salter (20 disposals) were also solid contributors.

The Demons once again saw good signs from their core, with Mitch Maguire (22 disposals, 2 goals), Alex Smout (22 disposals) and Mitch Hardie (2 goals) all with decent performances.

Canberra will look to bounce back next week against Southport at home, whilst the Bombers head to Blacktown to face Sydney.

NEAFL ROUND 2

Redland Bombers v Canberra Demons at Scottsdale Park

REDLAND 4.2 10.5 12.7 17.9 (111)

CANBERRA 3.3 5.7 7.9 7.9 (51)

GOALS – Redland: M Hammelmann 5 C Cameron 4 S Cunnington 3 D Steven 2 B Bailey H Bertoli-Simmonds S Cormick. Canberra: M Maguire 2 M Hardie 2 R Pollock T Highmore A Smout

BEST –  Redland: C Cameron J Rolls M Hammelmann T Salter C Malone S Cunnington. Canberra: M Maguire A Smout M Hardie A Baker T Highmore K Evans.