Calder Cannon Muhammad Saad kicked seven goals to lead his side to its third win of the TAC Cup season.
As has been the case so many times this year, against Oakleigh, the Cannons trailed at half-time.
Largely by virtue of keeping the Chargers scoreless in the third quarter, the Cannons took a two-point lead into the final break.
And with their noses in front, the Cannons didn’t give up the lead in the final quarter for a second successive week, winning 9.16 (70)-9.7 (61) at RAMS Arena.
Cannons coach Andrew Johnston said the club always knew what Saad could do with the ball, but it was his defensive efforts that had taken his game to the next level.
He has been named among the Cannons’ best players in the past three rounds.
“He does the miracle things,” Johnston said. “His pace is really good and he can use the ball when he has it. We spoke to him about his defensive efforts and they have improved massively.”
Johnston saw the win as more of a four-quarter effort than had been the case in many of the Cannons’ previous matches.
“They took advantage of the opportunities early,” he said. “We had more inside-50s and were winning plenty of ball. We were still in the game at half- time. The past few weeks we had been thereabouts. Last week I didn’t think we deserved to win, this week we did.”
While Saad was the star up forward, at the other end Zachary Guthrie continued his sensational start to the season.
“He has grown in stature every week and right now will be up there in our best and fairest,” Johnston said.
“They had one player who kicked three goals in the first 20 minutes. You turn to your best defender to stop them, and that’s Zach. He could play on the tall players, but now he’s defending the smalls. Zach wasn’t on the radar the past two years … now he is.”
The win against Oakleigh capped off a good week for the Cannons, with Karl Brown and Hayden Blythe named in the Vic Metro squad for the national championships now under way.
Brown will be a key member of Metro’s forward line, while a switch from the wing to half-back has led to Blythe being rewarded by the selectors. “We knew he could play on the wing, but now we’re learning he can play off half-back,” Johnston said.
