SFNL Division 2 Round 1 Review

Chelsea Heights got the ball rolling in Division 2, punishing Heatherton in a brutal display to run out big winners 16.21-117 to 1.6-12. There was plenty of hype around the Heighters pregame and they certainly didn’t disappoint, holding the Tunners goalless after quarter time in a ruthless performance.

The home side led from go to whoa and could’ve triumphed by even more had it not been for some inaccuracy in front of the big sticks. The Demons raffled the goals around with seven players registering multiple goals in a true team effort. It was a tough day at the office for the Tunners but Ben Ingham and Cameron Moon could hold their heads high with their efforts.

Skye proved too strong for Hampton at home, with both sides stuck in a low scoring arm wrestle before the Bombers blasted six final quarter goals to register a big win, 8.19-67 to 1.6-12.

Poor kicking plagued both teams with the three-quarter time score of 2.12 to 1.5 making for ugly reading, before Skye put the game to bed with an inspired final term. Jordan Frawley and Ben Khongbut both hit the scoreboard with two majors, whilst Joel McConville was damaging with both ball in hand and in front of goal.

East Brighton backed up last week's strong performance with another crushing win, this time a 91 point belting over Murrumbeena, 16.15-111 to 3.2-20. The Vampies were too good all day for the rebuilding Beena, with Nathan Foster putting on a clinic to end up with a bag of seven goals.

Tom Larby and Clinton Johnston also hit the scoreboard with three majors each and Zach Leiser-Moore found plenty of the Sherrin. It was a tough afternoon for Murrumbeena who look to be in for a bumpy season following mass changes to their playing list.

Springvale Districts made it two from two in a see-sawing game of footy against Caulfield, the visitors holding off a dogged Bears outfit by seven points 9.10-64 to 8.9-57. It was a cracking game of footy full of lead changes and momentum swings between two quality sides. The Bears had the better of the first half, taking a slender ten point lead before the Districts fired in the premiership quarter kicking five goals to zip.

Caulfield wouldn’t go away however, kicking the only two majors of the final term to get within striking distance before time ran out. For the victors, Adam Read was the standout with three goals and was ably supported by Mason Russell and Peter Heng.

Whilst the Bears didn’t pocket the four points there were plenty of positives to take out of the match, not least Matt Brown’s performance who was superb all day.

The final match of the round saw an absolute classic between Keysborough and Hampton Park, with the Redbacks pinching the win 11.8-74 to 10.9-69 in a cracking contest. With both sides tipped to feature in the upper echelon of the ladder, the Redbacks first breakthrough in Division 2 sent a strong message to the rest of the competition. They mean business.

The visitors enjoyed a solid first quarter, opening up a two goal buffer before the Burras struck back in the second term with five goals to zip. Hampton Park were able to steady the ship in the third, cutting the margin to a manageable 11 points with a crucial final term to follow. The last 20 minutes saw the match on a knife’s edge with the contest anyone's game before Jack Wilson put the visitors in front in the dying stages.

The win is a massive result for the Redbacks, who now sit 1-1 having played two quality sides. Liam Myatt continued his good form for the visitors as did Russel Gabriel. Whilst the loss is disappointing for Keysborough, there were still plenty of good signs and they should bounce back quickly. Tim Edwards was simply superb all day for the Burras, slotting five goals to almost singlehandedly drag his side over the line.

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