Heavens open as Pirates put Paradians to the sword

Jake Morris

Mother nature unleashed her full fury during Round 11 as cold, blustery and wet conditions took a stranglehold across the state, causing the matchup between Kew and the Preston Bullants to be abandoned. Elsewhere, UHS-VU and Therry Penola scraped out ugly victories as Oakleigh crushed the Westies and Peninsula leaped into the four with a comprehensive win over the Old Paradians.

Despite claiming a convincing 121-point victory, Peninsula’s score line of 21.23 (149) may have meant some valuable percentage points may have been left on the table, as the Pirates eviscerated the Old Paradians for their biggest victory so far this season. Will Harbinson pushed his goal scoring season tally to 37 with another four majors on the afternoon, while 12 other Pirates got on the scoreboard in the wire-to-wire display that saw them leap into the top four. Ben Williamson was adjudged man of the match while Nick Fisher and Sam Glenn were also instrumental in the win. Matt Luciani booted three of his sides four goals on the day as his sides’ season continues to spiral out of control.

Bouncing back from a defeat in Round 10 was Therry Penola, as they downed a wayward St Mary’s Salesian by 29-points. Despite having one less scoring shot on the afternoon, the Lions ball-use in-front of goal proved the difference, lifting the side to their sixth victory from their past eight games. Jarrod Bannister had himself a day out with a six-goal haul while running mate Mark Valenti provided a season-high four goals in trying conditions, Daniel Mccraken was named best afield in the win. The Saints will rue their missed opportunities in this one, as a chance to move into striking distance of a top-four spot goes begging. A 1.5 (11) third quarter followed by a 0.4 (4) last term spelled doom, as the more careful and calculated Lions went on the march. Michael Nolan and Louis Holmes both kicked two apiece, but it wasn’t enough as the Saints slipped to their third defeat from the past four weeks.

Our lowest scoring affair of the round saw UHS-VU reclaim top spot as they downed a pesky Prahran Assumption by 16-points in trying conditions. Coming up against the side that leaks the second least amount of points per game on the year (65.1), mixed with the wet and blustery conditions, it was no surprise to see the Two Blues produce their lowest scoring outing on the year, with Will Bourne, James Falcone and Mark McGill the only players to register a major for thy day. Tom Quinn and Jon Simonetta both fought valiantly in defeat, as their side fell to their third loss from their past four outings. Just like their opponents, the Vultures produced their lowest scoring performance on the season, managing just 41-points after averaging close 95 points a match entering the round. Nick Devereux was the match winner for UHS-VU, as he booted an incredibly important three majors to lift his side to victory. Gerard Hawkins was adjudged best afield while Cailean Moore and Ben Anderson both played exceptional games, setting up a Round 12 top of the table blockbuster against Kew.

Our final clash of Round 11 saw Oakleigh return to form and hammer West Brunswick by 63-points. Despite also leaving some percentage points up in the air with their wayward goal kicking (13.19), the Krushers captured the all important four points to remain in third spot. Aaron Cloke kicked another bag of four to push his yearly total to 57, while Zach Pearce-Thomas chipped in with three. Patrick Ioannidis was named BOG while Liam Gillard also received recognition in their sides third win in the past month of footy. Joel Beer was the lone bright spot up forward for the Westies as he kicked three of his sides five on the afternoon, while teammate Andrew Mackenzie was named his sides best in a spirit lifting performance.