Parkside was just happy to collect the four premiership points from a 35-point road win over Sunshine Heights in the Western Region Football League division 3 and move on.
The Magpies took care of business with professionalism, winning a hard-fought game that most pundits pencilled in as a victory for the flag fancy and doing so in a comprehensive manner.
It took a while for Parkside’s class to show on the scoreboard – it was still game-on late in the third quarter – but the Magpies eventually kicked clear.
Magpies coach Nick Condos lauded the fight of the undermanned Heights, who made life difficult for his side for most of the match, despite having a heavy injury toll during the game.
“I rate them really highly,” Condos said.
“They really served it up to us.
“It was a real contested and hard game of footy.”
Parkside already has the look of a premiership contender.
The Magpies are 2-0 and sitting on top of the ladder with a sky-high percentage of 332.
“I’m a great believer that it’s what you do early in the season that sets you up for later on,” Condos said.
New recruit Jason Cloke is in ominous form for Parkside.
Cloke has 13 goals in two games, including four in the win over the Heights.
Read the fine print closely, Cloke could have had another bag against the Heights, but kicked eight behinds.
Bad kicking for goal plagued Parkside, with Matthew Shepperbottom one of the other culprits, kicking 1.7.
While the end product was left wanting, Condos was not complaining about the build-up play, driven largely by star midfielders Justin Dorward and Chris Muratore.
“We’re getting entries in and our midfield is working really hard,” Condos said.
“We’re lucky that we’ve got a number of players that go through the midfield now.
“You can’t put you eggs all in one basket because you know they’ll target those guys week in week out, so other guys need to step up, which at this stage they’re doing.
“We’re getting enough supply in there and giving our forwards enough of an opportunity to kick a winning score.”
Parkside has another tricky trip this Saturday, paying a visit to the Wyndham Suns at Goddard Street Reserve.
