Listen back to this week’s The 5th Quarter podcast, featuring Hampton FNC Football Operations Manager Brad Timms as the special in-studio guest, in the player above.
ROUND 14 REVIEW
Endeavour Hills 13.21 (99) def Hallam 3.4 (22)
Endeavour Hills’ Sam McLean booted four goals for the second week running, as the Falcons accounted for Hallam by 77 points.
That margin, although considerable, flattered the Hawks.
They managed just seven scoring shots to the inaccurate Endeavour Hills’ 34.
Nick Gay is stringing together an impressive season for the Falcons, combining fitness with skill and determination.
This time, he dazzled with a best on ground performance.
Rory McIvor continued his excellent form for winless Hallam, being its best player yet again.
Springvale Districts 15.15 (105) def Ashwood 5.2 (32)
Any hope of a close contest at Springvale Reserve evaporated in the first quarter.
Demon defender Ben Stacey thwarted an Ashwood attack in the opening moments of the game.
Springvale Districts swept the ball to the other end, where Lachlan Morrey booted the first of his three goals for the day.
When he added his second major late in the term, the Demons had six goals to none.
Ashwood went to the quarter time huddle trailing 6.5 (41) to a behind.
Magpies’ coach Mick Rossborough offered a blunt assessment of his players’ efforts to that point, indicating they hardly got their hands on the footy.
He hinted some Magpies lacked the commitment and fitness required and had been taught a lesson by a more disciplined unit.
“Now you’ve just seen in one quarter what a team does that trains,” he declared.
Ashwood’s players responded, kicking four second-term goals and narrowly winning the quarter, but the Magpies never threatened to get back into the match.
The Demons went on to win by 73 points.
Morrey was named the winner’s best, whilst his teammate Sam Raru matched his three-goal tally.
Tom Wilkinson and Lance Baptist in his 100th game were a couple of other impressive performers for the Demons in what was a strong team effort.
Springvale Districts’ coach Kris Thompson was pleased his side continued to work hard and lay tackles right up until the final siren, despite the lopsided scoreboard.
Paddy Carroll was the beaten Magpies’ best, but his day ended early when he was shown a yellow card in the final term.
Heatherton 18.18 (126) def South Yarra 6.7 (43)
Heatherton controlled the day’s proceedings, crushing South Yarra by 83 points and managing 36 scoring shots to 13.
“It was our best four-quarter effort for the year,” Tunners’ coach Shayne Sheedy said.
His players spread the workload between them, making the task of naming Heatherton’s best a challenging one.
Reagan Maddaford dominated through the midfield and booted a couple of goals, whilst Callum Cusack again excelled in the ruck and around the ground.
David White provided a prominent forward target for his Heatherton teammates, booting seven goals.
Chris Tosin, Mehdi Daoud and Ben Clark-Henry were other Tunners whose efforts were praised by Sheedy.
The win enabled Heatherton to leapfrog Black Rock and seize fifth place on the ladder.
Eamon Hanney and Adam Villella fought hard for the outgunned and injury-plagued Yarras.
Black Rock 6.8 (44) def by Hampton Park 9.12 (66)
Ruckman Sam Nickless continued his dazzling form as Black Rock’s best contributor in a competitive team effort against top side Hampton Park.
Nickless has been named in the Jets’ top two performers in four of his five games since arriving at Black Rock, earning him several mentions in this column, and probably some club-imposed fines.
The heavily favoured Hampton Park led the Jets by just 13 points at the final change, eventually saluting by 22 points.
Justin Hill recently joined the Redbacks.
He slotted seamlessly into the Hampton Park senior line-up, booting four majors against Black Rock, following his 10-goal haul in the reserves prior to the Redbacks’ bye.
Shannon Henwood was again unstoppable for the Redbacks, continuing to demonstrate he is well worth his assigned four-point player value.
Experienced Jet Tom Dewar kicked half of Black Rock’s six goals for the game.
Although beaten, the Jets will take encouragement from their vastly improved showing against Hampton Park, having lost their round 7 clash with the Redbacks by 131 points.
@Apaloczi
