Mountain Lions Continue to Roar!

DIVISION 1 – ROUND 15 WRAP-UP

With Good Will Hunter

After enduring cold, wet, blustery and generally miserable winter days in the lead up to round 15, it was great to finally be bathed in glorious sunshine. And despite playing on some sodden grounds, it made for a ripping weekend of footy.

Chelsea Heights and Bentleigh played out a thriller at Beazley Reserve with the home side prevailing by seven points. After a tight first half the Heighters skipped out to a 22-point lead at the final change, which looked to have secured them the points. However, with Matt Troutbeck leading from the front (he finished with four majors) the Demons flew home in the last quarter but fell agonisingly short. Matt Terech continued his stellar form to again be among Chelsea Heights’ best.

East Brighton made hard work of it, but eventually defeated a plucky St Kilda City by 20 points at Hurlingham Park. The Vampires were their own worst enemy at times, butchering the footy in front of goal and registering a horrendous 6.23. But they had the class when it mattered most, as Dean Williamson won plenty of ball through the middle and big Hamish Dahl dominated in the ruck.

St Pauls extended its winning streak with a 46-point win over Clayton at McKinnon Reserve. The Doggies didn’t have it all their own way, as the visitors put up a hell of a fight for the first three quarters to get within nine points at the final change. But any chance of a boilover was quickly snuffed out as St Pauls piled on six unanswered goals in the last quarter to run out easy winners. Tim Blackwood and Peter Mercoulia were vital contributors in the Dogs’ triumph.

A seven-goal- to-one first term set the scene for Cheltenham as they dished out an 83-point caning to East Malvern. The Panthers briefly rallied in the second quarter, but it wasn’t enough as the rampaging Rosellas were too good across the board, with Pat Bolger and Jackson Barclay the standouts.

The last match went largely as expected, with Dingley thrashing Heatherton to the tune of 123 points. These two sides sit at polar opposites on the ladder, and the gap in class was glaringly evident as the Dingoes asserted their dominance in every facet of the game. Tony Lavars was best afield for the victors while Dean Frances booted six goals.

 

DIVISION 2 – ROUND 15 WRAP-UP

With Jason Barbin

As the race for the finals heats up, Round 15 brought us some results that are sure to have a major impact on the few remaining finals spots.

Mordialloc may have received a little scare going into the finals but remained in top spot overall with a tight victory against Oakleigh District. Mordialloc led at every change in difficult conditions which neither team were able to work to their advantage. Going into the final quarter only leading by 4 points, the Bloods showed their class and were able to grind out an 11 point win. Lachy Mciver continued to impress for the Bloods.

Hampton all but sewed up a finals spot with a comfortable victory against Doveton. Hampton continued to show the improvement that has seen them win 7 of their last 9 games and jump into the top 3. Their midfielders both young and old continued to work well together and apply pressure all over the ground. Up forward Brendan Bennett returned to form in front of goal kicking three.

Murrumbeena kept their finals hopes alive while diminishing the hopes of Springvale Districts with a 23 point victory. The Beena jumped out of the gates early racing to a 29 point lead at quarter time, stunning the home side. Murrumbeena continued to pile on the pressure for the rest of the game to move into 7th on the ladder. Henry Kerstens and Alex Moloney contributed up forward kicking nine goals between them.

Caulfield moved within half a game of a top 3, finishing with a decisive away victory against Highett. In what was a tight contest all day, both sides displayed finals like intensity in their fight for the ball and the game could have gone either way. But unlike in previous contests, Highett seemed to run out of legs in the 4th quarter as Caulfield outscored them 4 goals to 2 to run out victors by 19 points. Joel Butler played his best game for the season bagging six goals.

Skye continued their impressive run into the finals with another dominating performance against Moorabbin. The Bombers showed their class early racing to a 50 point half time lead, kicking 12 goals. Moorabbin were more competitive in the second half but weren’t able to reduce the margin as Skye ran out 59 point winners. Luke Mcguinness and Ben Walker combined for nine goals.

 

DIVISION 3 – ROUND 16 WRAP-UP

With Andrew Paloczi

Ashwood played a crucial home game against Sandown, needing a win to have any hope of making the finals. The Magpies were within 14 points at half time, but the Cobras kicked away to lead by over five goals at the last change. Their winning margin was 33 points. Frank Martinicchio was a standout for the Cobras with four goals, and Matthew Menzies was next on their best players list.

Black Rock was relentless when it visited Hallam Reserve. The final margin was 100 points to the Jets. The Hawks managed only six goals for the day, which was two less than Tom Dewar booted for the winners in a best on ground display. Sam Maitland and Cory Durie also featured among the Jets’ top players.

South Yarra visited Mount Waverley, and the Lions only trailed their mountain cousins by a solitary point at quarter time. Any thought of knocking off the ladder leaders was snuffed out by half time as the Mountain Lions went on a second term rampage, booting nine goals to one, to take a 51-point lead. They continued on in the same vein in the second half, prevailing by 100 points.

Dandenong faced a huge task at home against Carrum Patterson Lakes. The Redlegs were brave in the first half, trailing by only 23 points at the main break. By the conclusion of the match the margin in favour of CPL was 57 points. Chris Mouritz was one of five Lions’ players who booted two goals, and was named their best, ahead of Paul Mauracher.

After only managing a total of three points by half time, Endeavour Hills faced a massive home loss against Lyndale and trailed by 69 points. To their credit, the Falcons were competitive for the remainder of the game and limited the damage, losing by 76 points. Ordell Buntine was the best for the Pumas, followed by Trevor Kumetaitis who kicked seven majors.

 

UNDER 19s – ROUND 15 WRAP-UP

With Josh Schonafinger

Round 15 kicked off with Bentleigh recording a comfortable 112 point win over Chelsea Heights. Although the match started slowly, the Demons had far too much class, and kicked 11 goals in the final quarter. Nicholas Lowrie continues his goal kicking form with another 4. The Highters will be looking to finish the season of with a few wins to ensure they stay off the bottom.

Clayton emphatically ended St Pauls’ winning streak, largely thanks to seven goals to none in the second quarter. The Doggies were sent back to earth to the tune of 76 points and kicked only four goals for the day. Joel Rigoni put in a BOG performance for the Clays.

Cheltenham were terribly inaccurate kicking 6 goals 14 against Hampton last weekend. Luckily, it didn’t cost them as the Rosellas got up in a low scoring affair by 31 points thanks to standout games from Liam Brotz and Leandro Rodriguez.

Carrum Patterson Lakes just did what was required against Highett, leading at every change to win by 28 points. The Dogs were beginning to mount a serious comeback in the third quarter but ran out of gas as CPL put up just enough resistance.

Skye had the chance to move into the top three when they came up against Dingley but blew it after leading at half time. It looked like the Dingoes’ inaccurate kicking would cost them (17 behinds and only six goals), however they triumphed by 14 points when the final siren blew.

 

THIRDS – ROUND 15 WRAP-UP

With Josh Schonafinger

Sandown kept their ever so slim finals chances alive with a win of 44 points over Cheltenham. Matt McCormick kicked six goals for the Cobras, handing the Rosellas’ their third straight loss.

A goalless Moorabbin were smashed by Skye at Kananook Oval by 143 points. 11 of the Bombers made it onto the score sheet, with Bradley Dyer leading the way with five goals.

It was a similar situation when Dandenong faced Dingley; the Dingoes ran all over the Redlegs and conceded only one goal for the match. Joel Billing led the cause with five goals, the final margin being 84 points.

A thriller took place when Hallam and Black Rock met in the only result of the round settled by less than one goal. The Hawks lead by 23 at the first break before the Jets fought back to lead at three quarter time. Despite on scoring 1 points in the final term the Jets were able to hold on for a memorable 3 point victory.

Cerberus trounced Doveton by a whopping 194 points as the poor Eagles find themselves still winless for the season. Cerberus kicked 11 goals in the final quarter alone and had four players’ record bags of five goals each.

Elsewhere, ten goals shared between Nathan Proctor and Cedric LeGrand helped Endeavour Hills to a fairly comfortable win over Clayton.

Mount Waverley got over South Yarra by a healthy 75 points to remain second outright on the ladder.