Spicy footy prevails & Falcons soar in R2 of Div 4

Connor Hoetzel

A combined 11 goal final quarter made for a dramatic finish as Masala Dandenong held on late in the game to overcome an accurate St Francis Xavier with a thrilling three-point win. Masala were led by Janahan Kumaralingham, who fired with five goals, while Harrison Coe was electric at the other end with seven goals of his own. While it was no surprise that these two were their team’s best, Samuel Freeman was also influential for Masala, with his three goals.

Although inaccurate on the weekend, kicking 11.22, South Melbourne Districts still proved too dominant over Box Hill North as they sailed to a 46-point win at Lindsay Hassett Oval. Two goals from Toby Parish and Ryan Chirgwin were crucial for the victorious Swans, while teammate Jason Clifford was named best. For the Demons, James North led from the front, earning their BOG accolade for the day, while Thomas Cheslett was handy up forward with two majors.

Albert Park kicked off in the last quarter and booted eight goals to one to beat South Mornington by 56 points. Going into three quarter time, the Falcons held a slim 13-point buffer, but a great defensive effort to limit the Tigers to just 1.1 in the final term was backed by an accurate 8.2 at the opposite end. Thomas Wilson was best on ground for the Falcons, booting five goals, and teammate Hayden Turner chimed in with four of his own. Robert Wilson had four goals for the Tigers and Daniel Woods produced a man of the match performance for the visitors.

In the last game of the round, Elsternwick won at home after putting La Trobe University away by 30 points. It was a post to post performance for the Wicks, as they led at each change, and finished up as five-goal winners. Julian Yeatman was key with five goals, and Nicholas Lowrie also put four goals on the board. Michael Pradoline was the best for Elsternwick, while Matthew Ogle (4) shone for the Trobers.

With this week being a league-wide bye for Easter, Round 3 will have teams chomping to get back into it, and some intriguing fixtures await. South Mornington will want to get their first win for the season but look for South Melbourne Districts to take this one in a close encounter. Expect the Swans to improve on their goal kicking, otherwise the Tigers are in with a red-hot chance.

Masala Dandenong will look continue their spicy start to 2019 and should prove too strong for the slow-starting Box Hill North. Don’t expect the Demons to roll over though as they will be coming at Masala with all they’ve got to get their first win of the season. After an agonising defeat, the X-Men will come out looking for vengeance and the Wicks are the next challengers in what could be the closest match of Round 3. Two teams with high aspirations and this will be the one to keep an eye on.

After two weeks off, Eley Park will be keen to get back on the field, and Albert Park, fresh off a hot finish in Round 2, will be a challenger for the early season ladder leaders, this one is possibly match of the round.