Animals finish strong whilst a win wasn’t enough for the Saints

Posted on - Latest News, Featured, Division 2 Men's

Angus Archild – @GusArchi

Old Paradians will go into this season’s finals series on the back foot after a shock loss to relegated Glen Eira. However, a win for the Saints didn’t grant them survival after Bulleen Templestowe defeated Eltham Collegians at home. Melbourne High School Old Boys defeated Prahran Assumption at home to inflict the Two Blues to only their second loss for the season, a win that also assured the Unicorns a spot in the finals.West Brunswick were too strong for Yarra Old Grammarians in their win at home, whilst Emmaus St Leo’s made light work of Hawthorn in their 98-point victory.

Old Paradians started strong in their clash against Glen Eira, leading by nine points at the first change. Their dominance continued in the second quarter adding another four goals to their tally to bring the margin out to 19 points. But with the chance of survival beckoning, the Saints raced out of the blocks at halftime with a six-goal third term turning the tides to have them in front by nine points at the final change. Keeping the Raiders goalless and adding five more of their own allowed the Saints to run out 35-point winners, keeping their chances alive as long as other results went their way. Lachlan Pound, Vaughn Colyer and Julius Waras Carstensen all kicked three majors each for the Saints, with Colyer voted as their best on ground. Christopher Kandilakis was named the best player for the Raiders kicking two goals along with William Gilmore who also managed two goals.

Melbourne High School Old Boys will go into this season’s finals series on a high after their win against Prahran Assumption. Prahran started strong with a six-goal first half to lead by five points at the major change. With the smell of victory wafting through the change rooms at the break and the thought of a colossal upset front of mind, MHSOB rocketed out of halftime kicking five goals to one to lead by 17 points going into the final change. They managed to hold off a charge from the league leaders in the fourth, keeping the Two Blues to just two goals whilst also adding one of their own. Nicholas Hawking was huge for MHSOB booting four goals, whilst Thomas Beale was dominant in his best on ground performance. Josh Hogarth kicked four goals for Prahran to bring his season tally to 34, whilst Nathan Costin will go into the finals in good form after his best on ground display.

West Brunswick ensured Yarra Old Grammarians won’t be featuring in the finals in 2017 after a hard fought win out at Ransford Oval. Yarra were on top early, holding an eight-point advantage at the first change. It was goals galore in the second term as defence was completely disregarded, allowing the Magpies to add eight goals to their tally and the Bushrangers adding five of their own. Things slowed down in the third term with West Brunswick’s inaccuracy in front of goal keeping Yarra within striking distance. Another strong quarter from the Magpies kept Yarra from making any inroads in the final term, with a five-goal term bringing the final margin to 19 points. Rhys Hartwig finished with three goals to his name for the Magpies, whilst Christopher Germon was voted best afield. Nicholas Chamberlain booted four goals for the Bushrangers off the back of bags of three and four in his last two outings, while Jack Hall finished his season on a high with a goal in his best on ground performance.

Emmaus St Leos ended their season on a high with a 98-point thrashing of Hawthorn away from home. The Animals were rampant all day with Hawthorn never in the contest with 20-point lead at quarter time soon turning into a 47-point lead at the major break. Their dominance continued with a seven-goal third term putting another 100-point loss to the hawks on the cards. But a strong final quarter for the season from both sides meant it stayed under the triple figure mark, with Hawthorn building upon their total adding three goals and leaving the final margin at 98 points. Thomas Birkett had a day out for the Animals booting seven goals, whilst David Hill added five of his own. Paul Baranello also managed four goals for the Animals in his best on ground performance, finishing the season in hot form after featuring in the best twice in the past three weeks. Justin Raiti kicked three goals for the Hawks, whilst Nathan Raiti kicked a goal and was named as Hawthorn’s best.

The equation was simple for the Bullants, a win would ensure their safety, whilst a loss could spell the end of their time in Division 2. Not wanting to leave it up to chance, Bulleen Templestowe raced out of the blocks with a six-goal first term giving them a 19-point advantage at the first change. The game was tight in the second with neither side getting the jump on the other, leaving Eltham Collegians with a 31-point deficit to make up in the last half of the season. Eltham had their chances in the third to bring the game closer, however, poor kicking lead to the margin building to six goals at the final change. With the hard work already done, the Bullants cruised through the final term with both sides adding two majors apiece meaning the final margin stayed just above six goals. Michael Considine kicked four goals for the Bullants whilst goal machine Kristian Cherbakof kicked three of his own to fall just one goal shy of a half century this season. Brett Gutterson kicked three goals for the Turtles to bring his season total to 45, whilst Bryan Galvin capped off a strong month in his best on ground performance. This win ensured that Bulleen Templestowe will feature in Division 2 next season, meaning that despite an upset win by Glen Eira over Old Paradians, the Saints were unable to leapfrog their way out of the relegation zone.

Bulleen Templestowe’s, Kristian Cherbakof finished on top of the goal kicking tally in Division 2 this season with 49 goals. Brett Gutterson from Eltham Collegians finished in second place with 45 goals, just ahead of Yarra’s, Nicholas Chamberlain on 43 goals. Danny Nolan from Old Paradians (41) and Gerard Hogarth from Prahran Assumption (40) round out the top five.

In week 1 of the finals, Prahran Assumption will look to book their spot in the big dance with a match-up against West Brunswick at Trevor Barker oval this Saturday. Prahran Assumption got the better of the Magpies last time the two sides met with a comfortable 41-point win at home. Melbourne High School Old Boys and Old Paradians will fight it out for a spot in the Preliminary final in their match up this Sunday out at Trevor Barker Oval. MHSOB defeated the Raiders by 50 points in the Round 1 this season, however, the next time they met in Round 11 the Raiders were convincing in their 36-point win at home. With their season tally at 1:1, this match-up is sure to be a nail biter.