Football
29 June, 2026
Midfield surge lifts Saints past Eagles
Horsham Saints recovered from a slow start to defeat Warrack Eagles 13.3 (81) to 16.10 (106), overturning an early deficit with a dominant midfield response.
Warrack coach Kyle George was left frustrated after the Eagles surrendered a six-goal lead and an opportunity to upset one of the competition’s leading sides.
"We didn't battle it out, we lost a six-goal lead in 15 minutes, lost our entire structure, let the Saints in and got in front of ourselves," he lamented.
"The gap between our best and worst is way too big.
"Maybe the only pleasing thing is our potential, but that's not good enough.
"I actually believe we are better than them ... (for) a team that's learning, it's a good effort, kind of, but we lost it."
The Eagles got off to a flyer, up by 18 points at the end of the first quarter, and trailed by just four points at half-time.
The Horsham side put distance between the teams in the third and were up by 15 points heading into the final quarter, before the Saints claimed the win by 25 points.
John Jorgensen was brilliant for the Eagles, booting eight majors, while Shannon Taylor also battled hard.
Rory Taggert was the leading goal scorer for the winners, with four, and Reid Kuller also led the way among the best on ground for the Saints.
For Saints coach Angus Martin it was a good win for his side.
But Martin admitted his side was left to do the hard yards after a slow start.
"We had it in our notes, how to respond to the loss to Ararat (last round), and I put on the boys to come out hard but we came out the opposite," Martin said.
"We missed targets, we weren't connecting, we weren't running or working for each other and they got their tails up.
"But I put it back on the lads that we are a better side than how we played in that first quarter and we had demonstrated that across the last eight games.
"[I said] 'Do your job, get back to doing what we have been for the last eight weeks, get out of your mind that we lost last week and start again'."
And to the credit of the side, they did exactly that, scoring 15.9 to the opposition's 9.2 after the first quarter.
The coach acknowledged the efforts of Cody Bryan, who he said changed the game for the Saints.
"Bryan, Gage (Wright), Reid (Kuller), Will Brennan, they're all close mates and connected immediately," Martin said.
"Once we got on top in the middle, that's when we kicked six straight.
"We knew once we got on top in the middle, we were going to be able to score because we have a pretty good forward line, so once we started winning the contested ball in the middle that changed the game completely."
Martin, who returned to the park for his side last round after missing eight games, said he still wasn't 100 per cent.
"I'm just trying to get through games at the moment but over the next three weeks will look to build form and hit the back end of the season with a bit of confidence."
Read More: Brim