NO WORRIES: Rams lead Tigers to 10-1 slaughter.
Any worries of the Tigers upsetting Maitland were quickly dispelled as the Rams slotted 10 goals to the visitors’ one.
The work put in at training was evident for all but 20 minutes of the match, with the Rams throwing clinical passes and working hard to hold their structure.
Coach Nathan Baker was pleased with the concentration on moving the ball effectively in the circle to eliminate the defence.
Peter Urquhart scored the first goal with a drag flick off a penalty corner, while Matthew Hooson slotted the second only minutes later from some neat passing in the circle.
Baker scored two before Tigers landed their only goal – the result of a miss-step in defence.
Baker brought up his hat-trick and Matthew Brown scored another field goal with a flick at the top of the circle by half-time.
“It was a good first half,” Baker said. “We worked a lot on coming around with the ball, not hitting it straight through.”
The Rams lost their way in the 20 minutes following the break.
“We were trying to go directly through them for that time instead of drawing the ball back and going around them,” he said.
With 15 minutes to go, the Rams lifted and returned to the style of play that set them up in the first half.
Hooson slotted another two quick goals to bring up his hat-trick followed by one from centre-half Matt Magann, who earned the three points from the umpire.
Baker scored the final goal with 44 seconds left on the clock.