Gordon claims another victim with big win over Newlyn in round four of the CHFL

Without spearhead Marcus Darmody or Myles Sewell, who was a late out, the Cats didn't have the cattle to match Gordon, the final score 21.13 (139) to 6.3 (39).

Co-coach Ron Watt told The Courier he was pleased with his side's performance.

"I was pretty impressed with our intensity and how we went about it for most of the day. Playing against good opposition and we were able to dictate a lot about what we wanted to do," he said.

"We're aware they had a few players out and it'll be totally different game and look next time we play them, but we can only control what is in front of us and generally I was pretty happy with it."

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Gordon set the game up for itself in the first half, keeping the visitors to just one major while piling on 11 of its own.

The margin was 65 points, the main difference in the game being execution with ball in hand.

Newlyn had plenty of possession and opportunities to go forward, however, lacked the polish to finish off the job.

Gordon on the other hand, were able to use the ball well and add some scoreboard pressure.

Chris Banwell clearly had a stern word to his side at half-time and it was a new look outfit in the third term.

Despite still trailing badly on the scoreboard, the intensity Newlyn had was second to none and the game continued to be played hard and fast as it had in the opening quarter.

The Cats were able to add three goals for the term, the highlight a fast coast-to-coast transition handing Thomas Carey a goal.

Gordon co-coach Adam Toohey added two majors for the home side, who still managed to take a 73-point lead into the final change.

The Cats added two more goals in the final term, however, a six-goal quarter by Gordon put the margin over 100 points.

Following the lead of the AFL power West Coast Eagles, Gordon had a very clear structure forward of the ball.

Its deep forwards remained inside attacking 50, leaving a lot of space up the ground for its midfielders to go to work in.

Toohey said holding their space as a forward group has been a clear focus.

"The structure all across the ground, we preach it fairly hard and trying to move the ball around the ground using the width both vertically and horizontally," he said.

"We've been practicing it for months and to be putting on display especially on a small ground like Gordon's is going to put us in good stead come the end of the year."

The deep positioning of the forward line meant the midfielders had free reign to move the ball quick knowing there should be space around them and would be multiple targets inside forward 50.

Toohey preached that at the quarter-time break specifically, telling his side to move it on quickly and get deep forward entries.

"The ball movement we've got compared to previous years where it used to just be kick it long down the line to Sutters (Brendan Sutcliffe) or myself compared to now where we're using the 45s and taking the ball off line, running and carrying and finding an open man inside the 50 rather than just blazing away," he said.

For the victors Ethan Crackle was superb with four goals playing predominantly in the midfield, Toohey also added four majors.

For Newlyn, Liam Gill provided plenty of run and carry while Dylan Fishwick and Tom Carey each booted two goals.

In other results, Daylesford is on the board in 2021 after its 43-point win over the winless Ballan.

Bungaree made light work of Beaufort for its first win of the season, 13.13 (91) to 1.2 (8).

Clunes held on for the tightest of wins over Learmonth, 7.7 (49) to 6.10 (46).

Creswick claimed back-to-back wins with a 14-point win over Carngham Linton.

Springbank joined the winners list for the first time this season, two-point victors over Dunnstown.

Hepburn continued its stellar form, smashing Skipton by 88 points.

Rokewood Corindhap proved it's a genuine threat in 2021, beating reigning premiers Waubra by three points after trailing by 25 points at three-quarter time.

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