Around the Courts - Round 12

By Hugh Maclean

Division 2

Heatherton were made to work all the way by a tenacious St Kilda City side in division two’s best match this week.  After leading by just the solitary goal at the half, Heatherton extended their advantage to five at three-quarter time and it all looked quite routine, but Amy Byrne and Anthea Nisbet-Smith in the circle had other ideas.  The Saints came storming home but ended just short, by 31-29.  Dingley capitalised on a 21-2 opening stanza and although Keysborough hit back, winning the second and third terms by five, they could not sustain their run with Dingley posting a 51-30 win.  Caulfield gave Oakleigh District a nice old shellacking, winning 34-5 in one of the many matches curtailed at half time due to the wild weather.  Mordialloc forfeited against Murrumbeena and Cheltenham had the bye.

Points Table: Heatherton 32; Caulfield 30; Murrumbeena 28; Oakleigh District 24: Dingley 19; St Kilda City 17; Cheltenham, Keysborough 10; Mordialloc 0

Division 3

The match of the day in division three saw second pitted against third, with Doveton Eagles taking on St Kilda City in the 10.30 time bracket.  With Erin Wolffenbuttel on song under the ring, the Eagles took a 25-20 lead into the main break but the Saints came roaring out of the blocks in the third quarter, overturning the advantage to lead by one turning for home.  There was no let-up in the final term either, with City streaking to a 43-35 win that promotes them to second and consigns Doveton Eagles to fourth.  Leaders Murrumbeena took their time to shake off Cheltenham, but the Lionesses had more support for Jarrah Thomson (39 goals), than Cheltenham had for Kelsey Eade (35), in winning by 53-39.  The big mover was South Yarra, who held a 13-goal first quarter lead for the day in beating Dingley by 39-27.  In other games Caulfield beat St Pauls by 21-12, and Frankston Dolphins beat Black Rock by 20-8 in matches restricted to a half only.

Points Table: Murrumbeena, St Kilda City 36; South Yarra 34; Doveton Eagles 32; Cheltenham, Frankston Dolphins 18; Caulfield 17; Dingley 14; Black Rock 2; St Pauls 0

Division 4

Mordialloc sprung the upset of the season, beating East Brighton by 13-11 in a match cancelled at half time.  The star of the show for Mordialloc was Tiahn Wills, who kept star shooter Felicity Dawkins to just nine goals.  With Clayton beaten 33-27 by Heatherton and St Kilda City beaten 41-35 by eight-point leaders CPL, this opens the competition right up with Mordialloc only out of the four on percentage and Heatherton just two points further back.  Elsewhere Keysborough conceded a two goal quarter time lead to Bentleigh but turned that around in the second quarter to lead by 17-14 at the half, which became the final margin as the game was cancelled.  Oakleigh District were unable to field a team against Springvale Districts, leaving them safe in third spot.

Points Table: CPL 38; East Brighton 30; Springvale Districts 28; Clayton, St Kilda City, Mordialloc 20; Heatherton 18; Doveton Eagles 12; Keysborough, Oakleigh District 10; Bentleigh 4

Division 5

Lyndhurst took a spot in the top four of division five with a solid 47-36 win over Dingley.  After leading by seven at the first break the Lightning did not have things their own way in the middle of the match, to only lead by two at three quarter time.  A dominant last term however delivered them the four points.  It was Hampton that were displaced after Aspendale Arrows bobbed their head at just the right time to win by 13-12 in a match restricted to a half.  Cara Dawson shot Hampton’s entire score on a difficult day.  The top two sides had reasonably comfortable wins (or as close to as was possible on such a day), with Caulfield beating Mordialloc by 58-41 and Doveton Eagles putting paid to St Kilda City by 29-23.  South Yarra beat Lyndale by 18-11 in their half-match whilst Bentleigh were lucky enough to have the bye.

Points Table: Caulfield 34; Doveton Eagles, Aspendale Arrows 30; Lyndhurst 28; Hampton 26; South Yarra 24; Dingley 12; St Kilda City 9; Bentleigh 8; Mordialloc 6; Lyndale 4

Division 6

Division six remained tight near the top after round twelve.  Top side Heatherton dominated their clash with Dingley in the half that could be played, winning by 33-11; whilst Murrumbeena did similar against Highett, extending their eight goal quarter time lead to 25-15 at half time to complete the match.  Caulfield’s forfeit against Parkdale Vultures means that the Vultures draw level with them in the bottom half of the four, while Springvale Districts kept touch after Doveton Eagles were forced to forfeit against them at quarter time.  The closest game of the day was between the bottom two sides, with East Brighton overturning a one goal three quarter time deficit to beat Lyndhurst by 21-20.

Points Table: Heatherton 30; Murrumbeena 26; Caulfield, Parkdale Vultures 24; Springvale Districts 22; Doveton Eagles 18; St Kilda City 16; Highett 14; Dingley 12; East Brighton 8; Lyndhurst 2

Division 7

Hampton continued to flex their muscle in division seven, walloping fifth placed St Kilda City by 51-21 with Ellise Heitmann registering 39 goals on her own in the slightly less damp 10.30 timeslot.  Heatherton were untroubled against CPL with 18-6 being the half time margin in another curtailed fixture.  Skye were in a similar boat in their 17-8 win over Keysborough.  The best contest of the day came between Springvale Districts and Mordialloc.  Districts skipped away to an early lead which the ladies in Red chipped away at all day, until Tilly O’Toole was left with a pressure shot with ten seconds to play to level the scores.  She made the shot with some aplomb, meaning that the match was drawn at 27-27.  Hallam forfeited against Cheltenham, with South Yarra retaining second spot after having the bye.

Points Table: Hampton 42; South Yarra 36; Heatherton, Skye 24; St Kilda City 19; Springvale Districts 18; Mordialloc 16; Cheltenham 8; Keysborough 7; CPL 4; Hallam 2

Division 8

First played last in division eight and Dingley turned on the style.  They shared the goals around and led all day in a comprehensive 67-22 win.  Frankston Dolphins prevailed in the day’s only real close contest, coming from behind to beat Cheltenham by 24-20 in a win that puts Cheltenham’s finals place in some peril as Dandenong beat Bentleigh 23-5 and Doveton Eagles were a bit too good for Caulfield by 19-12, to draw level on 24 points.  South Yarra obliterated St Pauls by 28-2 in the day’s other shortened match.

Points Table: Dingley 36; South Yarra 34; Cheltenham, Dandenong, Doveton Eagles 24; Frankston Dolphins 18; Caulfield 14; Bentleigh 10; St Pauls 6; Lyndale 0

Division 9

Lyndhurst belied their lowly status to give Parkdale Vultures an almighty shock in division nine.  Kathy McCormick had an excellent day in goals, netting 28 times as Lyndhurst took an early lead.  The Vultures chipped away and took the lead late in the third term, and while Lyndhurst took an even share of the last quarter goals they just couldn’t quite take the lead, finally falling to a 36-34 defeat.  Hampton had no trouble with Mordialloc, keeping them scoreless in the first quarter in a game abandoned at half time with the Hammers 26-6 to the good.  Hampton Park held second place, managing a half in beating Dingley by 15-10 while Murrumbeena and Oakleigh District managed to get on the court for four minutes of the third term before the weather won, with the Beena taking the points, just, by 25-24.  Highett had little trouble with Black Rock in the final game, 26-10 being the final score.

Points Table: Hampton 38; Hampton Park 34; Parkdale Vultures, Murrumbeena 32; Highett 20; Oakleigh District 18; Black Rock 14; Mordialloc 12; Dingley 6; Lyndhurst 0

Division 10

Oakleigh District beat Dandenong by 12-9 in a half-match in division ten, after the match was level at quarter time, leaving Oakleigh top and Dandenong bottom.  Clayton kept second spot after leading all day against Springvale Districts Blue, recording a 37-11 victory, while Hampton retain third place after winning both quarters playable against Doveton Eagles, their margin of victory being 16-9.  Heatherton and Hampton Park, and Keysborough and Springvale Districts Red agreed to call their matches as draws in the treacherous conditions.

Points Table: Oakleigh District 36; Clayton, Hampton 32; Heatherton, Doveton Eagles 20; Hampton Park 18; Keysborough, Springvale Districts Blue 12; Springvale Districts Red, Dandenong 8