Division 1 Men’s: When it rains, it pours

Mitch Dyer

Last week was a case of some of the biggest wins in the division being spread across the board, which we saw in one particular contest resurface this week as the top 4 again gets a shakeup.

Starting things off with the upset of the round, the now 4-8 Therry Penola took on fringe top 4 competitor Oakleigh and managed to go home as big winners with the four points.  For Oakleigh, they have now lost the last two games to teams below them, and without the forward presence of their main goal scorer in Aaron Cloke, it appears they are struggling to win football matches.  For Therry Penola, it was a controlled performance, with Kane O’Halloren keeping to his recent goal kicking form adding another 5 on Saturday, to lead his team out 33 point winners in an effort that sees them climbing up the ladder and pushing teams to compete at their best.

Moving on to the biggest winning margin of the season, Old Camberwell kept the foot on the gas to bury the struggling St Mary’s Salesian by a whopping 214 points.  For Old Camberwell, they had more multiple goal scorers than I’ve had hot dinners, piling on an incredible 21 goals 8 behinds in the second half, whilst at the same time keeping St Mary’s scoreless.  It was a dominant display by a team that truly were struggling at the beginning of this season and are now just sitting 1.5 wins out of the top 4 with a huge percentage boosting win. They look dangerous.

Turning our attention to the matchup between second placed PEGS and third placed Glen Eira, it truly was a display of what we could come to expect come finals time.  The game stayed within a few kicks leading into the final change, with PEGS holding the advantage at every break.  Coming into the final quarter the class of this 10-1 outfit proved too much for the grade risers of Glen Eira, running out 25-point winners in what truly is a big win in the context of having one over their rivals come the end of the year.

Next up was a hard-fought win by a top 4 contender in Prahran Assumption, as they took on the men from Old Peninsula.  Peninsula can compete, and on this day, they decided to really take it up to their stronger counterparts of Prahran, managing to hold the lead leading into the final change.  Despite a day of consistent goal kicking from Lachie Enno, it wasn’t enough to hold out a fast-finishing Prahran, who managed to snatch the 4 points with a slender 15 point win.  Although a run down from behind win, it was a good confidence booster for a side only a mere 0.5 wins out of the top 4.

Our final game of the round was between ladder leaders Kew and Whitefriars, who currently sit second last with a 1-11 record.  This was as easy as you like for the men out of the eastern suburbs, commanding and dominating the lead from the get-go, being on top and in charge at every change.  Whilst the first half was only 4 goals the difference, Kew did what they needed to snatch the 4 points and sit atop of the ladder once again through 12 rounds.