Stopping all stations to avoid relegation

By Christian Burgess – Premier C Scribe

Ormond fought their way off the bottom of the ladder after they defeated Oakleigh by 24 points last Saturday. Ormond now sit 9th, only 1% higher than Oakleigh and one win behind Old Camberwell and Marcellin. The Monders jumped to an early lead and maintained it throughout the entirety of the game. It was a scorefest in the opening quarter with 17 scoring shots in favour of the Monders, 6.4 to the Krushers 3.4. The Monders biggest lead came in the final term when they kicked four majors to the Krushers won, extending their three quarter time lead of 6 points to 24 points. Young gun James Landman was named best afield for his standout performance for the Monders, while teammates Thomas Buckley (three) and Sam Stait (three) combined for six majors. Aaron Cloke bagged four goals for the Krushers and took his season tally to 53 from 17 games. 

Kew put an end to any relegation prospects with a win against equally placed Williamstown CYMS last Saturday. The Bears played some of their best footy in the first half, kicking 10 goals to The Cy’s five, going into the main break with 30 point lead. But the Cy’s third quarter was their best for the day, matching Kew’s second term and kicking 6 goals to the Bears two. Only seven points split the two at the last break, before the Bears piled on six goals from their 9 scoring shot to end their three game losing streak. The Bears forward power, proved too difficult to match with Andrew Brazzale kicking four goals (43 for the season), young gun Rob Maibaum managing three and veteran Sam Bishop, who recovered from a heavy knock at training during the week, clutched a further three. Jack Gray, Mitch Parkinson, Nathan Bratby and Russell Ackerly were al multiple goal kickers for the Cy’s.

Inaccurate kicking from both Old Ivanhoe and Caulfield Grammarians prevented from what could have either been a much closer encounter, or a horrific blowout. With the top four already set for finals, it was time for 1st to play 4th in a mini finals encounter to prepare for September action. Both sides had their chances in front of goal early but it was the Fields who took the quarter time lead kicking 3.6 to the Hoe’s 1.3. The Hoe’s struggled in front of goal for the next two quarters, only managing three goals to three quarter time and trailing the Field’s by 40 points. The Fields were excellent around stoppages and sent repeated entries to their forward line through Jordan Stewart, who starred in a best-on-ground display for the Fields. Sam Banfield (two) and Thomas Small (three), who have all hit fine form leading into September capitalised up forward and were two of the Field’s eight goal kickers.

Marcellin’s purple patch of form has come at an ideal time of the year as they fight off relegation, having not lost a game for four consecutive weeks. The Nodders got the upperhand early, kicking with the breeze and breaking away to a 13 point lead at quarter time, but allowed Marcellin six scoring shots. The Nodders only managed a point in the second term, as the accurate Marcellin slotted home five majors to secure an 18 point lead at the main break. The Nodders fired back in the third term with seven goals from 12 scoring shots in a dominant display, regaining a 14 point lead but faced a tough last quarter ahead. The Nodders moved to defence and resisted Marcellin to only 3 goals and managed one themselves to finish 12.11 a piece at the final siren. Ben Phibbs and Jono Blanch were best for their respective units, while Rees Thomas kicked four goals for the Nodders and James Robertson and Dan Cullinan snagged three each for the Eagles. The Nodders are now half a game behind the Fields, while the Eagles move up to seventh and a game clear of the bottom two spots.

It was a fast paced opening quarter between Peninsula and Old Camberwell, with the Wellers taking a nine point lead into the first break despite the Pirates having more scoring shots. Luckily for the Pirates, their repeat entries gave them many second chances in front of goal but they still only managed 5.12 to the Wellers six scoring shots at half time. The scoring began to slow in the second half as the Wellers remained goalless since the first quarter and the Pirates only managing two goals in the third term. At the final change, the lead was set at 35 points before the scoring opened up again in the final term. The Pirates took home a convincing 43 point victory, which could have been a far greater margin had the Pirates kicked more accurately then 11.19. Sam Glenn and Bradley Schuurman led from the front for the Pirates, while Thomas Kanz nailed three goals for the Wellers and took his tally to 51 (fourth in the league).  

Round 18 Tips

Mazenod v Williamstown CYMS

Old Ivanhoe v Peninsula

Old Camberwell v Ormond

Marcellin v Kew

Oakleigh v Caulfield