Swinburne and La Trobe remain on top as St Johns wins bragging rights

Billy Bolch

The biggest rivalry in Division 4 took place at the home of the Tigers as Masala-Dandenong hosted St Johns in what was set to be the match of the week. For the first half of the match, the game lived up to expectations. A scrappy start and defensive mindsets saw both teams ending the first quarter with low scores as St Johns led 14-8. The second quarter saw the game open up as both teams went into attack kicking four goals each before the major break, with St Johns still retaining a seven point lead. 

In the second half, however, we saw a different JOC’s game plan and one that was more free-flowing. St Johns grabbed the game with both hands and ran with it kicking eight goals to one in the second half. Although the Tigers never gave up, the momentum of the JOC’s was on full display as they ran out winners 95-44 in a tough game of football.  

For the Tigers, Declan Fowler kicked three goals on return whilst small forwards Jana Kumaralingam, Zac Pahos and captain Brandon Kelly kicked a goal each. For the JOC’s Andrew Daly, Matthew De Poilly, Jasson Naffa, Matthew Bennett and Ben Ayache all kicked 2 goals each. Masala’s best included Riley Shaw, Tim Hoffman and Sahil Grewal whilst the best for the JOC’s were Andrew Daly, Corey Ely and Ethan Hope.

St Johns will now host Box Hill North aiming to continue their winning ways in. Masala will have the bye before facing off against Albert Park in what will be an unpredictable affair. 

Eley Park was up for a tough challenge as they faced the undefeated Swinburne away however the Sharks definitely brought the fight to the Razorbacks. The first quarter saw Swinburne get off to a strong but inaccurate start as they kicked 2.5 for the first 25 minutes. During the second quarter, the Razorbacks extended their lead kicking five goals to the Sharks’ four to go into the major break leading by 18 points. 

Eley Park knew they needed a strong start to the second half and they found another gear as the Sharks kicked the first four goals of the half to go ahead by five points. The Razorbacks answered with another 2 goals to bring back the lead their way to go up by 4 points at the final break. Swinburne managed to extend this lead in the fourth running out winners by 21 points. 

The gap could’ve been much greater had the Razorbacks kicked straight with a scoreline of 12 goals and 20 behinds. Nicholas Coad continued his form kicking 5 goals for the game whilst Ben Field, Tom Johnston and Samuel Pentney kicked 3,3 and 2 goals respectively for the Sharks. Swinburne’s best included Zachary Lassey, Thomas Hartney and the previously mentioned Nicholas Coad. For the Sharks their best players were Luke Wakeling, Shannon Blewitt and Ben Field. 

Swinburne will now face Albert Park away in what will be another test for the Razorbacks whilst the Sharks will come up against La Trobe in what will be a close and competitive match.

La Trobe hosted Albert Park in a strong clash for both teams to see where they measure up against not only one another but against the rest of the division. 

La Trobe got off to the better start taking a two goal lead into the first break. In the second half, however, La Trobe seized the momentum and controlled the game against the Falcons kicking eight goals to three to run out winners by 41 points. 

With this win, La Trobe now goes to the top of the ladder alongside Swinburne. Riley Alexander followed up his six goal haul from his last game with another bag of six. Bryce Dowler and Iryoung Fan were the other multiple goal scorers for La Trobe with 3 and 2 goals respectively. 

For Albert Park, it was Alexander Evans who led the goal scoring kicking 3 goals for the day whilst other goal scorers included Tyson Cattle and Ethan Story. Sam Lee continued his elite form with another best on ground performance whilst others in the best included Liam Coffey and Nick Armistead. For La Trobe, their best players consisted of the previously mentioned Riley Alexander, Thomas Whelan and Riley Keath.

La Trobe will now come up against Eley Park in what they would consider a winnable match. Albert Park on the other hand will host Swinburne, a strong test for the Falcons. 

Box Hill North had the bye in Round 4, will face St Johns away this weekend looking for their first win of the season.