Division 1 - Round 12 Review
With Good Will Hunter
@Will_Hunter89
At long last Chelsea Heights have broken through for their first win of 2015. And they did it in style too, romping to a comprehensive 50-point triumph over Cheltenham at Beazely Reserve. Attacking ferociously with the breeze in the second term, the Heighters capitalised on their forward entries, piling on six goals to one to open up a clear advantage at the long break. It got a bit willing at times in the second half, but with the home crowd behind them the Heighters rose above it to claim a well-deserved win. Jordy Peryman was simply electric for the winners, finding plenty of the pill and kicking three goals to claim best afield honours. His teammate Lachy Dobson was also influential while Mickey O’Driscoll made the most of his foray into the guts. Cheltenham, severely depleted though they may have been, had winners in Chris Graham and Dan Vaughan, who between them booted six of their side’s seven goals.
Division 3 - Round 12 Review
With Andrew Paloczi
@Apaloczi
South Yarra kept its hopes of finals action alive with a powerful second half performance, resulting in a 17-point win over Black Rock. Playing at home, the Lions were expected to challenge the Jets and did so in the first half to trail by a goal at the long break. The Lions took charge in the third term to lead by 16 points at the last change, and went on to claim another big scalp, having previously defeated Carrum Patterson Lakes. Cory Brady booted four of the winner’s goals and was named second best for the Lions, behind Eamon Hanney.
Mayfield Park was the scene for an entertaining battle between Mount Waverley and Ashwood, played in arctic conditions. The crowd was distracted from the cold by a game that was in the balance throughout most of the day. There was never more than a goal separating the sides at any of the breaks and the opening minutes of the final term were enthralling as the sides wrestled for ascendency, with goals proving elusive.
Chris Jeffries was the recipient of a brilliant tap from teammate Jarrod Wilkin, and goaled at the 13-minute mark to put his team two goals up. Three more Mount Waverley behinds made the job too big for the Magpies, and a Ben Beecroft goal a minute before the siren put a little icing on the cake as the Mountain Lions won by 21 points. Jeffries finished with four goals and Cliff Aikman was selected as the winner’s best player.
The Mountain Lions’ win was all the more impressive given that Luke Galle was unavailable as he had a wedding to attend. Although this didn’t cost his side the points, it saw Galle fall five goals behind the division’s leading goal kicker.
Endeavour Hills was the away team but was expected to be too good for Sandown. However, it was the Cobras who made a strong start, holding the Falcons to a couple of points in the first quarter and enjoying a 14-point advantage at its conclusion. Endeavour Hills took charge from there, flying to a 29-point half time lead. The Cobras cut the margin to 15 points with a term to go, but failed to add to their score, and the Falcons won by four goals. The best player for the victor was Jacob Matwijkiw and Mitch Whatman impressed with four majors.
Alex Kerr and Shannon Rainey chipped in with a couple of goals each for Lyndale as the Pumas defeated Dandenong by 11 points at Greaves Reserve. Veton Rexha was again a standout as the Pumas’ best. The Redlegs threatened an upset, leading by nine points at half time, but were held scoreless in the third stanza to fall 14 points behind with a term left. An inaccurate 2.5 for the rest of the game ensured that Dandenong must wait a little longer to sing the club song.
Hallam hosted Carrum Patterson Lakes. Although the Hawks were not expected to win, there was hope they would be competitive. However, they failed to register a score in the first quarter and trailed by 33 points at its conclusion. The margin continued to grow throughout the day and the Lions powered home by 94 points. Trevor March had another excellent game for the winner, adding seven goals to take his season total to 50 and sneaking into the goal kicking lead by one. The Lions’ best player was Chris Hatzis.
