To kick off this week's top division results, Mordialloc played host to Port Melbourne colts in a vital clash for both sides with the Colts coming away 31 point winners in a surprising result.
The Colts jumped out of the blocks the quicker of the two sides and shot out to a three goal margin early on which they were basically able to retain for the whole first three quarters with Mordialloc not being able to break through.
The Colts dominated the ruck contests all day coming away with 47 more hitouts giving their mids first use and resulting in plenty of possession for the traveling side.
Stephan Brewer was back to his best in the win racking up 37 touches whilst also kicking a goal in a stunning display whilst Lachlan Voss was named best afield for his impressive game.
In the upset of the round St Kilda stunned Cranbourne by 32 points at the home of the Eagles.
The Saints had two pretty handy inclusions for this affair with Brendan Fevola (4 goals) joining midweek and Dane Swan lacing up again it was always going to give the Saints confidence and add some class to their side.
St Kilda City jumped out fast with a dominant first quarter display to hold a lead at the first break and continued that over the next two quarters however the Eagles were able to fight back and not go away reducing the margin to just 9 points at the final change.
But a six goal last quarter from the Saints put the exclamation mark on the performance and saw them come away with a stunning victory.
St Paul’s McKinnon once again sent warning signals to the rest of the competition with another dominant win this time overcoming East Malvern by a huge 129 point margin.
The Doggies dominated this contest in every aspect with them recording +86 disposals, +34 marks and +32 inside 50’s to reflect their dominance on this contest in what was converted into goals.
Stephen Muller dazzled again this time with just the lazy 8 goals and also recording 21 disposals to go with that. Brody Lawford was at his best collecting 28 disposals and being deadly by foot.
The Doggies sit third and are breathing down the neck of the top two only sitting a game behind the top two and will be aiming to break into the top two in the weeks to come. For East Malvern, they remain winless for the season and their first win seems like a long way away still.
In another contest that shaped up to be a tight tussle between Dingley and Springvale, the Dingoes proved too strong on their home deck winning by 26 points.
The game was super even for most of the affair with both sides never being able to dominate or dictate play at any stage which left a really free flowing and open game to be played out.
The Dingoes did however dominated the inside 50 count leading that stat by 29 at the end of the day but for the most part were not able to turn those inside 50’s into goals. It was only in the second quarter where they did convert their chances when they kicked 4.7 to open up a 25 point margin at half time which could have been great if it wasn't for their inaccuracy in front of goals.
Lucas Walmsley again starred kicking 2 goals and recording 29 disposals to continue his scintillating seasons whilst there were a number of other impressive contributions with Kristen Feehan taking a game high 10 marks and Danny Ades laying 13 tackles.
Top of the table Cheltenham continued on their merry-way in season 2022 recording a thumping 82 point victory over Bentleigh over the weekend.
The Demons jumped out of the blocks early in the first term kicking 3 goals to one to hold a shock lead going into the first break. But they were blown away in the second term by The Rosella’s who kicked 6 goals to hold a solid lead heading into half time.
The second half saw the Rosella’s absolutely dominate as they held the Dees goalless for the entire second half whilst also scoring 8 goals of their own. The Rosella’s dominated possession recording +119 disposals whilst also recording an astounding 34 more inside 50’s.
This win for the Rosella’s has given them a much needed percentage boost to keep their heads in front of second placed Cranbourne. Whilst Bentleigh can take some positives out of this game in particular the first half as they look to record just their third win of the season.
Division 2:
Chelsea Heights romped to a strong 87 point victory over lowly placed Skye in a very comfortable afternoon for the home side.
The Demons got off to a sluggish start in the first half in particular the first quarter with them being sloppy early on and not being effective by foot. But it was their third term which broke the game open when they slammed home 8 goals in the term.
With a dominant second half display the Demons were able to get back to playing the way we have gotten used to this season. Bradley Gilder impressed with 4 goals whilst Jessie and Ryan Odell were named among the best.
In what shaped to be the tightest contest of the round, Caulfied proved too strong for East Brighton as they came away 47 point victors.
The first term saw an arm wrestle with both sides kicking the two goals each. It was in the second quarter where the Bear’s asserted their dominance kicking 6 goals to zero to open up a 6 goal half time lead.
From then on the game was once again an arm wrestle, with the Vampires fighting their way back into the game and effectively matching the Bears in the second half.
With this victory the Bears have now extended their grip on a top four spot now stretching the game between themselves and the Vampires who sit fifth to 6 points.
Top of the table Doveton faced off against the side at the complete opposite end of the scale in last placed Heatherton and came away with a whopping 154 point thumping.
The Doves kicked a huge 30 goals on the day with seven of them coming in a brilliant opening term to break the game open early. The Doves’ most destructive display was in the third term which saw them kick 10.2 in a blistering quarter.
Michael Cardamone thrilled the crowd with 7 goals in a spectacular display with Cameron Williamson kicking 4 goals of his own in arguably a best on ground performance along with the 7 goal hero.
In the game of the round between Keysborough and Hampton Park a thriller unfolded in front of a packed Rowley Allan Reserve with the home team producing a 9 point win.
Hampton Park who came into this clash as heavy underdogs produced a brave display in what saw them lead at every break threatening to produce a famous upset victory.
But the Burra’s fought back to come from behind all day to kick 3 goals to nothing to come away with a thrilling comeback victory in front of their home fans. Thomas Shaw was the hero for the Burra’s kicking 6 goals to kick 60% of his sides majors.
Keysborough remain in third position and hold a strong grip on the top four and will be aiming to strengthen their top four position even further whilst Hampton’s finals hopes appear gone with a huge turnaround required.
Division 3:
In the clash between the third and fourth placed sides in division 3, Ashwood showed their premiership credentials coming away 11 point victors over Carrum Patterson Lakes.
The Magpies jumped away early to a three goal margin starting the game strongly but were clawed back over the next 2 quarters by CPL to only hold a slim two point margin at the final break.
In an enthralling last quarter, the Magpies fought back the ascendency with a 4.4 last quarter to CPL’s 3.1 quarter handing the Magpies a fantastic win.
Jack Purcell was in rare touch booting bag of 7 to continue his fine form with Michael Decorrado chipping in with 4 goals of his own whilst for CPL Anthony Giuliano kicked another bag of 5.
In the whitewash of the round, South Yarra proved no match for Endeavour Hills with the Falcons winning by 82 points in a cruisy outing.
The Falcons were the much better team all throughout the contest, with the side being able to control the play all day which gave their forwards plenty of opportunities to set up a big win in which they did.
The goalscoring was shared around for the Falcons with there being 12 different individual goal kickers and 7 multiple goalscorers reflecting a great team performance.
The Lions remain bottom of the table after 12 rounds whilst for the Falcons they are on the verge of a top four spot after some strong form recently.
The Clays hosted Black Rock in what was expected to be a comfortable victory for the away side, but Clayton produced a spirited performance.
The Clays who went into this clash second bottom, were given no chance but they showed tremendous fight to be right in the contest all day to even take a lead into the final break.
But the Class of Black Rock shone through in the last term with the away team kicking 5 goals to 1 to come away 19 point winners on the road.
Paul Tsoucalas once again kicked three goals in another dazzling display whilst Napoleon John was named best on ground.
In the upset of the round and quite possibly the year, the Narre South Saints produced a famous win on the road against Murrrumbeena.
The Beena’s who came into this game second on the ladder with the Saints sitting in sixth it shaped up to be an easy affair for the home side but it was anything but that.
The contest was an arm wrestle for the first three quarters with neither team being able to get out to any sort of lead making it a thrilling contest. The Beena’s will have their poor accuracy in front of goals to blame for the loss with the side kicking a poor 4.13 in front of the big sticks compared to the Saints’ 12.4 which ultimately proved the difference.
However, with the game still in the balance at the final break with the Saint’s leading by just the goal it was a stunning last quarter display from the Saints that sealed victory which saw them kick 6 goals to zero to come away 39 point winners.
Division 4:
Lyndale recorded a thumping win over the weekend over lowly placed Doveton recording a resounding 146 point win.
Lyndale raced out of the blocks early slamming five first term goals before putting the foot down in the second and third quarters to kick 17 goals to 2 across those two quarters.
Ahmed Kandakji was superb up forward booting 10 goals in an impressive display proving too strong for the Doves’ defenders. Meanwhile, Khaled Kanadakji also impressed with 4 goals of his own whilst Brett Tosh was named best afield again.
The Doves, who are struggling even more as the weeks go by, will need big improvements in order to pick up a much needed win. Whilst Lyndale are now firming for a finals position if they can continue this form.
In another blowout over the weekend, Dandenong thumped Cerberus by a ginormous 148 points in a stunning display.
The Redlegs totally dominated this affair right from the start all the way to the final siren seeing them kick an astounding 25 goals.
Brock Jenkins thrilled the crowd with 8 impressive goals whilst Adam Boag and Phillip Muscat also chipped in with 5 and 4 goals respectively.
The Redlegs remain in pole position to claim a finals spot whilst Cerberus sit bottom of the table with just one win from 12 games.
In a highly anticipated clash between first and third on the table, Lyndhurst proved too classy for Hallam with the Lightning coming away 36 point winners.
With the contest being an arm wrestle all day with momentum shifting from side to side saw a rollercoaster of a game. The Hawks trailed by as much as 5 goals but then produced a fantastic third quarter to bring the scores level at the final break.
The Lightning then produced a fabulous last term booting 6 goals to zero to clinch the game away from the Hawks, who were brave in defeat.
Hamish Browning continued his goal kicking form slotting 7 goals on the day.
Lyndhurst sit second on the ladder a game off the top and will be looking to cement their top two position even more in the weeks to come. Whilst the Hawks sit comfortably inside the top four after 12 games played.
Top of the table Frankston Dolphins hosted the South Mornington Tigers in what promised to be a vital clash for both sides.
With the game being a tight tussle throughout the opening three quarters it was the Dolphins’ strong last quarter which blew the game open where they kicked 4 goals to nothing to come away 51 point victors.
Liam O’Donnell starred once again with another bag this time, a bag of 6 to take his season tally to 41 in just a staggering 8 games. Whilst Jackson Smith and Andrew Mathers both produced strong performances again.
In what proved to be the game of the round the Moorabbin Kangaroos narrowly beat Hamptom by 15 points in a competitive affair.
The Kangaroos held the lead all day but were never able to shake the hammers which was largely due to their inaccuracy in front of goals which kept the Hammers in the game.
With the Kangaroos only holding a slim 4 point margin at three quarter time the game was still in the balance but a controlling last quarter from the Kangaroos got them over the line.
Majed Dimachki was on fire again booting 6 goals to make it 14 goals in two weeks whilst Zdenek Hostalek produced another best on ground performance to continue his strong form.
The Kangaroos are on the verge of a finals spot and will be looking to build off this win whilst the Hammers finals hopes seem lost and will need a big turnaround in the weeks to come
