Division 1 – Round 4 Wrap-Up
With Good Will Hunter
A perfect autumn afternoon last Saturday saw some brilliant games of SFNL footy in Round 4, with three matches decided by less than a kick.
The match of the round certainly lived up to its billing with East Brighton holding out the previously unbeaten East Malvern to win by a solitary point at Dunlop Reserve. The Vampires were clearly the better side in the first half with their midfielders well on top, but the Panthers fought back to level the scores by the final change. In a pulsating last quarter the home side attacked with a strong breeze, but Andrew Clements helped save the game for East Brighton with several intercept marks in defence. Shae Skipper was the Panthers’ best.
Bentleigh won its second consecutive heart-stopper, this time defeating Mordialloc by just two points at Bentleigh Reserve. The Demons flew out of the blocks with a seven-goal opening stanza and maintained their ascendancy for most of the afternoon. The Bloods pinched the lead midway through the final term, but Bentleigh reclaimed the advantage with their only goal of the quarter and held on for eight exhausting minutes. Demons skipper Scott Lawry was again sensational and young Matt Hogan also impressed while James Morris and James Keighley slotted nine goals between them for Mordi.
St Pauls’ poor start to the year continued, narrowly beaten by St Kilda City at McKinnon Reserve. Although the Dogs held a slender buffer at half time, City clicked into gear in the third term and booted five goals to one to snatch back the lead. The last quarter was a tense arm-wrestle, but with Aaron Purvis and Perry O’Hehir-Vargas dominating the Saints held on to win by four points. Travis Ridgeway led the way with five goals for St Pauls.
Over at Beazely Reserve, Clayton recorded a 27-point win over Chelsea Heights. The Heighters were slow out of the blocks, allowing the Clays to build a decisive match-winning advantage by the long break. With Erish Uthayakumar in fine form the Heighters outscored their opponents in the second half but it wasn’t enough to get the chocolates. Clayton’s Dean Scanlon found plenty of the pill while his brother Stewart bagged six goals.
The final game was an absolute massacre with Dingley mercilessly thrashing Cheltenham at Souter Oval. With Chelt hampered by a six-day turnaround the Dingoes effectively had the game won by halftime before blowing the final margin out to 128 points courtesy of 11 last-quarter goals. Jackson Peet and Bret Lavars were the chief destroyers, combining for 11 majors for the winners while Daniel Vaughan’s efforts were the Rosellas’ only positive.
Division 2 – Round 4 Wrap-Up
With Jason Barbin
Round four is done and dusted and the season is now well and truly underway.
Skye have won their third game in a row with a tough 34 point win against Murrumbeena. The margin doesn’t begin to describe how good a match this was. Both sides displayed excellent balance between attack and defence through three quarters and it took a strong final term for Skye to break free of the defensive hold Murrumbeena had on them. Aaron Pacey was named in the best for the Bombers with four goals.
Keysborough have continued their winning start to the season with a 20 point victory at Caulfield. Caulfield rallied in the third quarter to bring the margin back to single digits after trailing by 15 points at half time. But Keysborough weren’t to be denied, kicking three goals to one in the final quarter to win their fourth straight game. Tyson King was again prolific in front of goals with four while Joel Butler had four for the home side.
Oakleigh Districts have bounced back from last week’s disappointing loss in emphatic style, demolishing Hampton by 104 points at the Toolbox. Oakleigh led from start to finish, recording their third win of the season as gun forward David Velardo kicked 13 goals, beating Hampton by himself. Brody Hodic was also impressive with four goals while Dan Saldanha was named in the best. The win moves Oakleigh back into the top three.
Springvale Districts got their season back on track with a comfortable 20 point win against Doveton at home. Springvale were superb defensively in the first quarter, restricting Doveton heavily before the Eagles hit back in the middle part of the game. The two sides battled it out in the final term with Springvale holding on for the in. Power forward James Gough had his best game for the club, kicking eight goals.
The comeback kings have done it again, Highett have knocked off Heatherton by five goals, after coming back from three goals down at half time. The Tonners led at every change before a five goal final quarter from the Dogs got Highett over the line. Heatherton were in the box seat but were unable to score in the final quarter, despite an impressive six goal effort from Matt Jamieson. Tom Brown was the best for the Dogs, kicking three goals.
Division 3 – Round 4 Wrap-Up
With Andrew Paloczi
Sandown hosted a thriller against Lyndale, and the big crowd at Edinburgh Reserve and
Southern FM listeners were absorbed by the Brendan Fevola show. Despite a nerve problem with his back, which made it hard to get off the massage table before the game, the famous spearhead delivered in spectacular style booting the winning goal, as the Cobras snuck home by four points. Fevola was impressed with the standard of play and said, “I was really surprised at how well the boys move the footy.” He finished with eight goals, but Mitchell Uaongo also starred for the Cobras, dominating in the ruck throughout the day.
Mount Waverley cruised to an 86-point win over Dandenong at Greaves Reserve. Luke Galle booted five majors for the victorious Mountain Lions and Leigh McInnes played well again, being named their best contributor.
Hallam took on what has become the toughest assignment in this division, playing Black Rock at MacDonald Reserve. The Jets were on target early scoring six goals straight for the first term, and built on their lead each quarter, winning by 61 points. Tom Dewar kicked seven goals for the top-placed Jets and the ever-reliable Kelly Spratt was their best player.
It was no surprise that Carrum Patterson Lakes claimed the points against Ashwood, with the game being played at the Lions’ den, but the margin was a real shock with the Magpies getting walloped by 98 points. Major contributors for CPL were Trevor March with six goals, James Dent with five and Chris Mouritz who was named best on the ground.
The Southern Dragons were no match for South Yarra, despite being the home team, and the Lions finished 52-point winners. That makes it a couple of wins in a row for them.
Moorabbin’s Matthew Johansson again showed his class with five majors in a 47-point home win over Endeavour Hills. He has been named in the Kangaroos’ best in the first four rounds.
