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DIVISION 2 REVIEW
By Jason Barbin
@JBarbin10
Division 2 action in the Southern Football Netball League was back on Saturday and while Round 1 yielded few surprises, there was plenty to take away.
Chelsea Heights 11.8 (74) def Murrumbeena 7.7 (49)
The Heighters got their season off to the perfect start, with a six-goal final quarter leading them to a 25-point victory against Murrumbeena at Beazley Reserve.
Callum Dodson and Jarryd Uren starred around the ground while Michael O’Driscoll booted three goals to lead the way.
In a highly contest first half grind, Murrumbeena led by six points at the first break before Chelsea Heights took a seven-point half time lead after booting three goals to one in the second stanza.
Murrumbeena regained the advantage during the third term, booting four goals to just one to take a 13-point lead into the final break.
In the end, Chelsea Heights took advantage of the conditions to hit the scoreboard with six majors in the final quarter to record a 25-point victory.
East Brighton 6.9 (45) def by Skye 15.8 (98)
Skye continues to show why they’re an excellent defensive team following a convincing 53-point win against East Brighton at Hurlingham Park.
Stephen Hawkins was in inspirational form, booting six goals and claiming best on ground honours alongside James Bateman and Jim Martinson.
Cameron Petrie and Tim Barr also proved handy up forward for the Bombers, each booting two goals.
Mount Waverley 10.12 (72) def by Hampton 13.9 (87)
Hampton withstood a fast finishing Mount Waverley outfit to get its season off to a great start with a 15-point victory at the Lions Den.
Bunarith Kheng and James Gascard combined for eight goals while Corey Smith was named best on ground for the Hammers alongside Ajit Alister.
Jackson Smith was the best for the Lions, booting three majors.
Hampton rocketed off the start line, booting five goals in the first quarter while keeping Mount Waverley scoreless to lead by 36 points at quarter time.
The Lions reduced the margin to 20 points by half time, but again the Hammers surged in the third term to lead by 30 points at the final change.
Despite the Lions piling on five goals in the final quarter, the comeback fell short as Hampton booted three goals of its own to run out 15-point winners.
Heatherton 14.4 (88) def Springvale Districts 10.17 (77)
They say bad kicking is bad football and for Springvale Districts, inaccuracy in front of goal proved costly as it went down to Heatherton away from home.
The Tonners on the other hand, were deadly accurate in front of the big sticks with David White and Justin Whyte combining for 10 of the team’s 14 goals.
Heatherton jumped away to the early lead in the first term, bagging four goals to one to lead by 16 points.
Springvale had their chances across the next two quarters but could only manage 3.9 while Heatherton booted 8.3 to jump away to a 40-point lead at the final change.
The Districts were more accurate in the final quarter, with six goals, but were unable to fix the damage already done and went down by 11 points.
Highett 11.10 (76) def by Keysborough 14.16 (100)
The Burra are back, defeating Highett by 24 points at the Kennel with Chris Bryan and Ryan Goodes back in a side that struggled mightily in 2016.
Led by Daniel Morland with three goals, six players kicked multiple majors for Keysborough, which overcame a 25-point quarter time deficit, booting four goals to just three behinds in the final quarter to secure the win.
Tim Werner was named best on ground for the victors, who kicked six goals to three in the second term to reduce the margin to nine points, before a six-goal to one second half propelled them to the win.
Andrew Carey and Robert Swayn were among the best for the Dogs with four players kicking two goals each.
