Pink Animals by one again, Two Blues push for top spot

Emmaus St Leo’s continued their run of holding off opponents with their second one-point win over the weekend, this time against Eltham Collegians at Bennettswood Sports Ground. In conjunction with their successful Ladies High Tea Raising fund for the National Breast Cancer Foundation, the Animals led by as much as 32 points at half time and held on when the Turtles came hard in the fourth. Miguel Hawa and Brent Simons were named best afield for the fifth-placed Animals, while Tim Woods kicked four goals for the Turtles who sit seventh and below Bulleen Templestowe on percentage. The Animals defeated MHSOB by one point in Round 3 and Old Paradians by two in Round 2.

26 scoring shots to 15 helped Yarra Old Grammarians to a comfortable 31-point win over Old Paradians at Garvey Oval. Michael Gazeas (three) and Nick Chamberlain (three) were the main recipients up forward for the Bushrangers, while Matthew Biviano (three) did the damage at the other end for the Raiders. The Bushrangers remain third on the Division 2 ladder and six spots above Parade.

The recent on-field rivalry between Hawthorn AFC and West Brunswick was revisited at Rathmines Reserve, with the Westies coming away with a 66-point win. Leading by 20 points in a low-scoring first half (13-33), the Westies kicked 10 goals to three in the second half and remain undefeated atop the Division 2 ladder. Craig Mitchell and Coby Millar were standouts yet again for the Westies, while Dave Upton and Travis Whittle were valiant for the winless Hawks.

A four-goal to nil third quarter gave Glen Eira Gryphons their third win of the year as they held on the defeat Bulleen Templestowe by 17 points at Ted Ajani Reserve. With just seven points separating the two sides at half time, the Gryphons show poise and class in a dominant third term before holding off a fast-finishing Bullants outfit who nailed three goals to one in the last. 2016 Hutchinson Medallist Julius Waras-Carstensen (four) and Alex Erwin-Ross (four) kicked two-thirds of the Gryphons goals in a damaging display, while Brodie McLaughlin was named best for the Bullants for the second consecutive week.

Prahran Assumption continued their push for top spot should the Westies ever falter with a 21-point victory over MHSOB at Toorak Park. 23 scoring shots to 12 gave an indication of the Two Blues’ strong performance, with Brett Dickinson (three) and Adam Sleight (two) combining for five goals. Jonathon Simonetta was BOG, while Dylan Hamilton-Ho (one) continued his impressive form for the one-win Unicorns.

Feature photo: Emmaus St Leo’s Facebook page