Anna Pavlou – Annalyst_Sports

The ever-changing Division 2 ladder is never settled as the race for the finals is on, while at the other end of the ladder, 5 sides are battling to avoid the dreaded drop.

At the mid-point of the season, Old Paradians and UHS-VU lead the pack with the early pacesetters, Whitefriars and Yarra Old Grammarians closing out the top 4. Melbourne High sit just outside while Bulleen, St Johns, St Leos, Power House and Eltham are locked in a tough battle to determine who will play in Division 3 next season.

All sides will take the well-earned break to regroup. It will be a chance to refresh their players before a full-on second half of the season onslaught.

Here’s how Round 9 went down.

Eltham Collegians vs Old Paradians

The hard work has almost paid off for a fighting Eltham Collegians side, who tested the ladder leaders and flag favourites Old Paradians, going down by only 23 points at their home Eltham College. It was a tight battle throughout the day, with the battle on at both ends with Boundy (Raiders) kicking four and Vidinopolous (Eltham) booting three. The Turtles were close all day but they didn’t have the cattle when it counted as the class of the Raiders prevailed. Nolan was the star of the show for the Raiders, followed by Hunt and Gilmore’s valuable inputs. Vidinopolous was named best for the Turtles along with Enright and Robertson’s assistance.

Power House vs UHS-VU

The 2017 Division 3 Premiers came out to play and demolished an undermanned and injury depleted Power House side by 70 points. The first quarter looked to set up the game as a closer battle with the House kicking two to UHS-VU’s three, but the handy kicking from McAdam (6) and Jackson (4) settled the Vultures as they went on to kick six more before half time. A battling House side were stopped in front of goal and struggled to stop a variety of goal kickers. Tassone was the standout for the House, supported by Circosta and Ritchie while the Vultures had a share of goal kickers but Brambley and Allen dominated while “Gilbert” McAdam was the star of the show.

Bulleen Templestowe vs Emmaus St Leos

This game was decided in the first quarter as Bulleen Templestowe stamped their authority over Emmaus St Leos and came home 97 point victors. Holding the Animals goalless in the first quarter, the Bullants extended their dominance to lead 10 goals to one at half time. With a spread of nine goal kickers, led by Dimopoulos’ four, Bulleen piled on another 10 goals in the second half and halted any chance for the Animals to fight back, holding them to a total of six for the game. The Animals couldn’t find their feet across the ground as they were shut down by the hardworking Bullants Vogler and Wilson. Dakin was again strong for the Bullants with three to his name.

St Johns vs Yarra Old Grammarians

A strong defensive performance from Yarra Old Grammarians halted any chance that St Johns had in front of goal, as the Rangers piled on the pressure to take the chocolates by a comfortable 90 points. After a close first half, with the Jocs only trailing by four goals, Yarra came out fresh and only allowed them one more goal for the rest of the game booting 11 goals to one after half time.

The Rangers BOG performances came from Fleming and Woolley around the ground. Harbeck adds seven to his leading goal tally, with Cooper the other big kicker with five. The Jocs had Mourant kicking five and Costas named best, in a performance they’ll be keen to move on from.

Whitefriars vs MHSOB

Holding MHSOB scoreless in the first quarter and keeping them to only 5 goals for the game, Whitefriars have stayed put in the top 3 taking the win by 30 points. It was a low scoring affair with the Friars ably shutting down the Unicorns up forward and clogging up their fast run on through the middle. While the Friars only managed to kick four more goals after the first quarter, their ability to lock down and play a defence game won them the four points.

Tran was again the shining light for MHSOB, with single goals from Hayes and Smith, who is pushing for top spot in the competition goal kicking. For the winners, who were missing consistent goal kicker Nitas, goals came from Neate (2) and Perrin (2), with the BOG performance being handed to Leonard.