Hawks, Westies fly into Division 3 preliminary final

Hawthorn booked their place in next week’s preliminary final after they won their eighth match in a row with a 21-point victory against Aquinas at Casey Fields. Despite kicking 24 behinds among their 31 scoring shots, the Hawks found a way to get it done against their higher ranked opponents. Jesse Lehmann continued his red-hot form with a best-on-ground performance, while Jason Ince kicked two goals. Aquinas will now need to wait for tomorrow’s results between Emmaus St Leos vs UHS-VU and West Brunswick vs Swinburne to see if they get the second chance in the six-team finals series.

Emmaus St Leos continued their unbeaten run in 2015 with a monster 89-point victory over UHS-VU at Scammell Reserve earlier today. 41 scoring shots to 17 told the story of the day’s play, with the Animals extending a 68-point three quarter time lead by kicking 10 majors in the last term. Ryan Harding continued his out and out dominance in front of goal, kicking six for the Animals, while John Clark booted three for the Vultures.

West Brunswick will be appearing in next week’s Division 3 preliminary finals after they defeated Swinburne University by 44 points at Garvey Oval. Following a slow opening half where only four goals had been kicked for the game, the Westies piled on six goals to their opponents’ two in the final two quarters to put any thought of an upset beyond doubt. Dylan Muscat led from the front with four goals, while Warwick Baker was named best on ground.