Division 1 shakes up ladder position once again proves nothing

Mitch Dyer

Well the surprises just keep on coming this year in Division 1 with round 5 producing another mouth watering addition as the ladder positions are being tossed out the window, as some games were decided by pure grit and pure heart.

Peninsula Old Boys faced up to Prahran Assumption in wet, greasy conditions. Going against the grain of how the first four rounds were played it was Peninsula who got the jump leading at quarter time. A topsy-turvy affair saw them fall four points behind at three quarter time. The class and run of Prahran proved to be too much for a gallant Peninsula, resulting in a 20 point victory taking them to 3-1-1 for the year, whilst Peninsula now sits 8th on the ladder with a 1-4 record.  This game was always going to be interesting given each side is sitting in the bottom / mid tier of the league, this will be a confidence boosting win for Prahran. 

Turning our attention to the team to beat in Division 1, the undefeated PEGS took on a team that I see as a genuine threat in Glen Eira. It was a good test for PEGS, Glen Eira is the team that rose from Division 2 and has started the year in hot fashion. PEGS class was on display from the get go never relinquishing a lead for the entirety of the game, eventually running out 37 point victors.  I really don’t think the 37 point deficit is an apt way to describe the quality of footy the Gryphons can put together, but it also gives them a great insight into where they sit against the top of the table in their new division.  

The Kew Bears outfit dismantled the bottom of the table St Mary’s Salesian with a 117 point thumping.  Kew this year have only suffered the one loss, whilst St Marys sits firmly at the bottom of the ladder remaining winless for the 2022 season. Josh Janssen was the real winner of the day booting 7 majors for Kew, and most interestingly they also managed to kick 9 goals 5 in the last term – that’s serious kicking. This is a great percentage booster for Kew and a confidence moment where they can reset just how good they are and move with the momentum from there – for St Marys it’s another tough Saturday and may be best to forget it, move on, and see if they can take a scalp in round 6. 

Perhaps the shock loss of the round came out at Donvale as Whitefriars went down to the second last placed, Therry Penola.  It’s worth noting at their best Whitefriars can compete with the top echelon, but as I have said time and again through the year they have a tendency to be caught napping, which is exactly what unfolded on the weekend as Therry Penola flexed their muscles and ripped the 4 points right out of their hands.  This is a huge win for the Lions given they were winless coming into this game, having been smacked by over 100 in previous week. To come out and win by 14 points is highly impressive.  For Whitefriars, although yes they did nearly come back and steal it in the end, this is a massive sliding door moment of how good are you really going to be…

In the final match of the round, Old Camberwell faced off against Oakleigh, who it is worth noting are the biggest improvers for this 2022 season. I called, and have continued to call this Camberwell outfit the Coupe De Gras of Division 1. I’m ready to give that title up, and give praise to this Oakleigh team for coming from behind in the first half to take the win by 16 points.  This result is huge in context of the season, and also just in context of maybe how blinded I am from the success of Camberwell last year compared to this, now sitting at 2-2-1, behind Oakleigh who are rolling at 4-1 for the year!  It was clear from last year once this Oakleigh team could move the ball out of defence they had weapons up forward who can win games for them, and that’s exactly what is happening.  This is a massive momentum shifter for the upper teams of the Division, and I can’t wait to see how or even if Camberwell can compose and get back to their best footy from 2021.