TWO top guns led a shoot-out as reigning VFL premier Sandringham bit the dust at North Hobart yesterday, ending the Tasmanian Devils' five-game losing start to the season.
Ian Callinan and captain Ben Beams kicked four goals each as the Devils finished with bullseye precision to win 19.9 (123) to 15.12 (102).
More than that, they racked up between them 34 kicks, 12 marks, 20 handballs, 21 handball receives and 10 tackles.
"That's an awesome contribution from two players, but the great thing is we had a lot of players who put in today," said a relieved Devils coach Mathew Armstrong.
"Just as importantly, we ran the game out in the second half, which is something we haven't done in our previous games this season."
The win was some compensation for losing to the Zebras in last season's second preliminary final after the Devils had buried them by 40 points at North Hobart in the second round.
Hard on the heels of Callinan and Beams were Brett and Matthew Geappen, whose combination of hardness in the contests and run saw them collect similarly impressive stats.
But for sheer scoreboard inmpact, nothing could touch the contribution of the wounded warrior Justin Plapp.
Plapp's hamstring troubles returned midway through the first quarter and when he limped off it looked as though the Devils had lost their only marking key forward for the day.
But an injection got him back on the paddock and he kicked three of his five after Adam Viney had kicked two in a minute in what was a blistering six-goal salvo by the Devils in the last 10 minutes of the third quarter.
It turned a seven-point edge at half-time into a 29-point break at the last change which, even with the wind, Sandringham could make little inroads into.
Reducing the opposition's possessions is every bit as important as racking them up and in that way Brennan Savage did a fine job in nullifying the early damage by Melbourne-listed bigman Alistair Nicholson as a rebound defender and ruckman.
Mathew Jovanovic was a rock in the back half and Ben Atkin a good link player, but just as pleasing was the way young players such as Ben Britton, Nathan Grima and Clinton Brown handled themselves in the heat of battle.
Sandringham coach Mark Williams rued his side's inability to stay switched on.
"For us to hit the front and then have five goals kicked against us in red time was pretty disapointing," Williams said.
"Chad Liddell was great, Andy Biddlecombe was good in the back half and young Brendan Von Schaik did well in the ruck, but we really didn't have any four-quarter players like Tassie."
The crowd of 2685 was disappointing but not unexpected considering the Devils were languishing on the bottom of the ladder.
The numbers are expected to perk up when the Devils, refreshed from a two-week break for the bye and the state game, return at almost full-strength for the night clash with the Bendigo Bombers at Aurora Stadium on May 27.
Last Modified on 08/05/2005 15:21