Snakes bite Hawks in pre-finals thriller

Sheridan Harris

Kevin Bartlett Reserve witnessed a 9-point thriller on the weekend as Richmond Central took down ladder-leaders Hawthorn making the top 4 even more interesting pre-finals. The Snakes burst out of the gate in the first quarter, leading a shellshocked Hawks outfit by 26 points going into the first break after kicking five goals to one. It would continue to be the story for the rest of the day as the home side kept their noses in front, despite a last-quarter, four-goal surge from Hawthorn. Thomas Rivers (3), Benson Adams (2) and Dylan Hall (2) were the Snakes’ multiple goalscorers, with the latter taking top honours. For the away side, Thomas McKay’s two majors earned him a best-on nod, and Darcy Johnston and Henry Kain also contributed two each to make up six of ten kicked on the day.

A misfiring Albert Park suffered their 11^th loss of the season as they welcomed North Brunswick to Bill Woodfull Oval for round fifteen. The Falcons did their very best to stem the bleeding after a five-goal first quarter to the Bulls, but fell short in the last term as the away side sunk five more to well and truly seal the deal by 89 points. Peter Butler (4), Keary Mourelatos (3), John Tucker (3), and Jake Horwood (2) were all unstoppable in front of goals for North Brunswick, as Simon Mair earned top spot on the best players list. Tyson Cattle and Benjamin May were the only goalscorers for the home side and Jack Lee was their best.

Emmaus St Leo’s have put on a goalkicking clinic to win by 160 points against an unfortunate Westbourne Grammarians team who were on the back foot from the very beginning, going into the first quarter break down by 43 points. The Warriors managed to get on the board in the second term but much to their dismay, the Animals could not be stifled, taking an arguably already-insurmountable 76-point lead into halftime. The winners had twelve individual goalkickers, but it was Emerson Lemkau (4) and Jesse Collins (3) who rode shotgun to the Dan Hill Show, who finished the game with nine goals, adding four in the last quarter where his team piled on five more to take a much-needed major percentage boost into the last few games of the season. Collins took top honours.

Canterbury have gone down to Parkside at home at Canterbury Sportsground, despite a five-goal final term that saw them cut the losing margin to just 23. The Red Devils kicked six majors in the second term to take a 55-point lead into the main break, making it tough for the Cobras to come back in the last half. In his return game, Parkside’s Simon Mackie kicked three, while Peader Hanley (4) starred in front of goal and Benedict Douglas took number one spot on the best players list. For Canterbury, Joshua McGrath (1) was best-on, and Mitchell Szabo kicked three majors, with Martin Astbury and Steven Pimm adding two each of their own.