Kangaroos defeat Boston Demons to continue 5-game win streak

The Kangaroos remember well their epic journey to Boston in 2010. With flight delays and an unplanned overnight stopover, the trip to Boston took over 20 hours. Nonetheless, the Nashville team leaped onto the field and quickly took control of the 2010 game.

Several of the Boston Demons had a similar experience traveling to Nashville on July 28, 2012. Unlike the 2010 Kangaroos, the 2012 Demons had difficulty getting into the flow of the game in the first quarter. With the previous game’s high-scorer Chris “Dex” Neilson in the forward pocket and Damian “Damo” Serong returning to full forward, the Roos had plenty of options to convert opportunities into six goals for the quarter. At the other end, the Demons had far fewer opportunities and were held to a single behind.

With Serong increasing his tally to four goals and Nate “Nate ‘Nate’” Caldwell running the ball out of the center with deceptive speed, the second quarter continued much like the first. However, the final players at last arrived from Boston, providing more interchange options, and the Demons started to string together some creative passages of play.

The Demons ran out for the third quarter determined to get a couple of goals on the board. With Boston rebalanced towards offense, the floodgates opened. The Roos had their highest scoring quarter of all time, eclipsing the 203 to 3 victory over Baton Rouge in 2006. The accuracy of kicking 10.1 for the quarter was also noteworthy, as was Daved “Walker” Walker‘s four goals. However, the Demons were not without their glory at the other end of the ground. The excitement of their first goal for the match was thrilling as Boston players run from all corners of the field to congratulate their goal-scorer, and the Boston forwards followed up with a second to complete their third-quarter plan.

The Kangaroo coaching team implemented their own rebalancing for the final quarter, such as Mischa Nemeth providing power at center half forward. Although a comeback was clearly beyond their reach, the Demons wanted to go home winning a quarter. The final quarter of a lopsided match can be tame, but the aggressive positional changes and enthusiastic attitude of both teams made for a very entertaining twenty minutes. Kicking 3.2 to the Kangaroos 3.3, Boston came stunningly close to meeting their fourth-quarter target and earned a great deal of respect.

The Kangaroos are now 9-1 on the season, having outscored opponents in aggregate 95.71 (641) to 37.43 (265), and only once allowed their opponents more than five goals (Columbus scored eight). The Kangaroos next face a fierce rival, the Atlanta Kookaburras, at Elmington Park in Nashville on Saturday 4th August at 2 PM. While the Nashville Kangaroos expect tough competition, they hope to extend their current win streak to six games and equal the second-best win streak in their history.

Scores by quarter:

1st - Nashville 6.5 (41), Boston 0.1 (1)
2nd - Nashville 11.9 (75), Boston 0.1 (1)
3rd - Nashville 21.10 (136), Boston 2.2 (14)
4th - Nashville 24.13 (157), Boston 5.4 (34)

Goals:

Nashville: Damian Serong 4, David Walker 4, Chris Neilson 3, Clint Milner 3, Joshua MacWilliams 2, Preston Jezek 2, Cliff Cosnahan, Jeff Persson, Jesse Wells, Kane Harrison, Nathan Caldwell, Tim Creed.
Boston: Not supplied.

Best:

Nashville: Preston Jezek, David Walker, Chris Neilson, Kane Harrison.
Boston: Not supplied.
 
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