ROUND 17 REVIEW
Sandown 4.8 (32) def by Carrum Patterson Lakes 24.16 (160)
Carrum Patterson Lakes are marching into finals in cracking form after belting Sandown by 128 points in a shellacking of the highest order. The win sees the Lions stitch up the minor premiership with the club in a great position to go all the way in season 2018.
The Cobras never stood a chance as the visitors blew them out of the water with a seven goal to zip opening term. The Lions were able to slice their way through the visitors with aplomb, opening up a 50-point lead at the half.
But things were to get worse for the Cobras, as the damn wall well and truly burst open in the second half as the Lions continued to run riot. The visitors stacked on another 14 goals with their forwards filling their boots against the powerless Sandown defenders.
Star duo Alex Wilson and Brenton Rafferty were unsurprisingly in the thick of things, with the pair combing to boot 11 majors between them. The Lions engine room fired on all cylinders throughout the day with Matt Beckett and Andrew Curd the standouts with ball in hand.
It was a day of complete misery for the home side but their long season is almost at an end. They have a good chance to find some reasons to smile next weekend when they face Dandenong in what should be a close contest.
Frankston Dolphins 13.11 (89) def Lyndhurst 7.7 (49)
Frankston has claimed a big scalp on the eve of finals, dismantling Lyndhurst by 40 points on their home deck. Heading into the clash the Dolphins record against top four teams sat at a lowly 1-6.
But they bucked this trend in sensational fashion, putting the Lightning away in the second half to notch up one of their better wins for the season. It was an entertaining contest from the first bounce with both sides hitting the scoreboard in an even first term.
The Dolphins slowly but surely were able to add to their lead and by half time they had opened up a handy 15-point buffer. But the best was yet to come as the third quarter was all one way traffic in favour of the home side, the Dolphins booting four goals to one to run all over the Lightning.
Frankston eventually running out comfortable 40-point winners in a satisfying four quarter performance. Joshua Kerrigan was the standout up forward with four goals, taking his season tally to 33. While it was Sam Turner and Hayden Anderson who did the damage with the pill in hand.
Many of the Lightning players were well below their best and there are certainly some warning signs for the club just before finals. Jesse Walia was in everything again for the visitors but was unable to receive any meaningful support from his teammates.
Moorabbin 8.6 (54) def by Cerberus 20.18 (138)
Moorabbin’s season of pain has continued after they were trounced by 84 points against Cerberus in another listless performance. Facing the in-form team in the competition, the Kangaroos never looked likely as the Three-Headed Dogs slammed through seven first quarter goals to start to match.
The contest followed a fairly predictable script for the rest of the match as the Dogs continued to put the hapless Roos to the sword in a one sided contest. If not for some individual brilliance from Jimmy Milner, this match would not have stuck in the memory bank for too long.
But the Cerberus forward ripped the Moorabbin defenders to shreds, kicking a colossal bag of 12 majors to utterly shatter any remaining confidence left in the home side.
Milner’s breakout performance is the first time this season a player from any side has reached double figures in the score column and it also adds another headache for opposition teams ahead of finals.
Matthew Berry was the next best of the goal kickers with three but his performance was understandably overshadowed. The Dogs had plenty of contributors across the park with all 22 players chipping in to play their role.
Unfortunately the same could not be said for the Kangas who look completely bereft of any confidence as they crawl to the finish line. They have one more game to end the season on a positive note.
@LincolnEdmunds
