Division 1 Round Review

By Will Hunter
Twitter@Will_Hunter89 



ROUND 11 REVIEW


Chelsea Heights 2.6 (18) def by St Kilda City 12.15 (87)


The Saints have flexed their muscle, crushing the struggling Chelsea Heights by 69 points in difficult wintry conditions at Beazley Reserve.

A six-goal opening stanza helped St Kilda City on its way, before extending their lead at every change. The Heighters were simply never in the contest and could only muster two goals for the afternoon, further underlining the Saints’ dominance.

Ryan Carroll booted four majors for the winners, with Aaron Green, Juy Capp and Jesse Toniolo all make light work of the slippery conditions.

Daniel Campisano and Cal Dodson again flew the flag for Chelsea Heights.

 

Mordialloc 12.11 (83) def East Malvern 8.2 (50)


In the highly-anticipated top-of-the-table clash it was Mordialloc that took the bragging rights over fellow flag contender East Malvern with a hard-fought 33-point victory at Ben Kavanagh Reserve.

The Panthers were missing a staggering number of big-name stars from it starting side, including Chris Carey, Luke Duffy and Lucas Hall to Vic Metro duties, as well as Luke Poustie, Ryan Mullett and Adam Collinson, but its depth shone out in an encouraging performance.

Despite its weakened side on paper, the gallant East Malvern went goal for goal with the Bloods in a tight opening half, with the former’s accuracy keeping them in the contest. Mordialloc’s total of six behinds saw them lead by that margin at the long break.

However, the premiership quarter belonged to the hosts as they gained the momentum through the midfield, keeping East Malvern scoreless en route to a match-winning 26-point advantage by the final change.

Remarkably, Tom Curry was the only multiple goalscorer for Mordialloc; he finished with two for the afternoon in a terrific performance that should see him attract votes come Ellis Medal night. Jayden Gregory’s good form continued, while Luke Barnhoorn and Sean Hendricks also excelled for the red and whites.

Nic Barry, Steve Brewer and Marc Lonergan were the standouts for the undermanned Panthers.

 

Bentleigh 11.8 (74) def Cheltenham 7.10 (52)


A stunning second half saw Bentleigh run all over Cheltenham to record a stirring come-from-behind 22-point win at Arthur Street, despite trailing at every change.

Their triumph was a perfect salute for club champion Scott Lawry, who celebrated his 250th game in front of a vocal home crowd. Appropriately, it was the former skipper that booted the final goal of the day to seal the deal in his milestone match.

Despite going in as warm favourites, the Demons made sluggish start as the slick Rosellas posted the only four goals of the opening term to burst out of the blocks and lead by 23 points at the first change.

The Demons found their groove in the second quarter and worked back into the contest, reducing their deficit to just seven points at three quarter time.

From there it was one-way traffic as Bentleigh ran rampant, slamming on five unanswered goals in the final term to blow the Rosellas off the park.

That the Rosellas managed just one major in a second half fade out that would have greatly disappointed coach Des Ryan. By contrast, the red-hot Demons slotted eight up the other end.

Sam Lewin and Michael Rogers led the Bentleigh resurrection with their dominant performances, while the evergreen Lawry also featured among the best with two goals in his milestone game

2015 Barnes Medallist Oliver Gabelich also booted two majors in his Bentleigh debut.

Conrad Hudghton and Tim Bolger were influention for the Rosellas with Drew Kelly slotting three goals.

 

Port Melbourne Colts 10.5 (65) def Oakleigh District 7.9 (51)


Port Colts have climbed off the bottom of the ladder after they upset Oakleigh District by 14 points at JL Murphy Reserve.

The Colts’ win is just their second of 2018, coincidentally against the same opponent.

Given they had much of the play for their first three quarters, the Districts would rue their inability to put the Colts away early, which left the gate open for a late fightback by the hosts.

Despite controlling the footy for long periods, Oakleigh could only manage 3.6 to half time, which had them seven points adriftat the long break. However, three unanswered goals in the third term saw the Oaks pull ahead by the final change and look every inch the likely victor.

But the Colts weren’t done, and booted five goals in a barnstorming last quarter to pinch an unlikely win.

Michael Egan did the bulk of the damage up forward for the home side booting six majors, with Cal Cathcart and Max McNaughton also among their better players.

Skipper Brody Hodic led the way for the Oaks, while Luke Casey and Francesco Bonacci also stood out.

 

Dingley 8.5 (53) def by St Pauls 9.12 (66)


The Dingoes have slumped to their sixth loss in seven matches as St Pauls saluted by 13 points at the Den.

Despite losing two of its most influential players in Lucas Walmsley and Danny Ades to the Vic Metro side, it was a competitive performance from the Dingoes who slotted seven first-half goals to take an 11-point advantage to oranges.

However, they could only manage one more to their tally after half time as St Pauls sung its song for the ninth time this season.

The day was a momentous occasion for the Herbstreit family, with all four brothers – Matt, Carl, Sean and Liam – playing in the St Pauls senior team for the first time. Remarkably, 18-year-old Liam, who has worked his way through the Doggies’ Under 19, Thirds and Reserves sides this year, earned his call up to the ones just seven days after his elder brother Sean’s senior debut the previous Saturday.

However, it was Carl Herbstreit that took the bragging rights over his siblings, named the Doggies’ best player ahead of Jaye Edmunds and Matt Kreymborg.

Kristen Feehan gave his all down back for the Dingoes while Jack Ades and Kane Davidson were industrious around the ground.

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