Noakes causes chaos for Panthers during impressive home performance

Augusta-Margaret River swiftly responded from their opening round loss against Busselton with a commanding 16.15 (111) to 7.4 (46) win over Carey Park on Saturday afternoon at an overcast Gloucester Park. The Panthers’ defence had no answer to a masterful performance up forward by Tim Noakes. who routinely capitalised on direct delivery into the teeth of goal. Unfortunately for the visitors, they did not play their best football until the eighth-minute mark of the final term, once the sting had well and truly evaporated from the contest. Still smarting from their opening-round loss against Busselton, the Hawks burst out of the traps, with Sam Lewis kicking truly inside the opening 30 seconds. This dominance was extended by reigning Hayward medallist Simon Moore, who was racking up possessions at will inside the corridor. Additionally, if the Hawks lost a centre square stoppage, Moore and several teammates provided a brilliant springboard across the half-back line, which resulted in countless entries into their attacking zone. The chief benefactor of this direct delivery was Tim Noakes (eight goals) who appeared to do what he liked at times. Noakes twice kicked multiple goals in a four-minute spell during the first half, much to the delight of the Hawks supporters in the outer. During the rare occasions the visitors did enjoy some territory in attack, Hawks defenders Lincoln Adams and Jack McMahon swiftly stifled their creativity. Trailing by 64 points at half-time, the Panthers players remained in the changerooms just prior to the start of the third term, and ran out with the home side already lined up in position. Although they did manage to get some respectability on the scoreboard during the closing stages, Carey Park was unable to seriously challenge the reigning premiers when the game was up for grabs.