Mecwacare Masters make it a day to remember

Josh Heriot

The Mecwacare Masters Footy Festival gave us all the thrills, spills, laughter and excitement we were expecting and anticipating in the build-up to the inaugural day.

The day was a success mainly to the efforts of VAFA Club Development Manager, Sean Walker who worked tirelessly in getting all 4 participating clubs to agree to playing at Elsternwick Park.

“The key purpose of the Mecwacare Masters Footy Festival was to highlight the Masters product and provide a great experience for all people involved while also looking to generate interest in new teams for the 2023 competition” Walker told VAFA Media on Sunday.

“The clubs and their players all loved watching replays of the game in the Social rooms post game which included special comments during the broadcast from Tony “General’ Phillips from DLS and SKOB’s Playing president, Pat Mount.” he continued.

It was De La Salle and Oakleigh who first took centre stage at Elsternwick Park to kick off the day.

A strong breeze saw De La Salle kick seven goals in the first quarter of play and it was Tom Moloney providing lots of run and carry off the wing while Corey Wilson dominated in the midfield, kicking a long range first quarter goal. With De La Salle exploding out of the blocks early, Oakleigh had to do the chasing and despite kicking two goals in the second quarter it was De La Salle who remained dominant all over the ground. The ladder leaders continued to build on their fast start, and in what was a physical contest they ended up with nine individual goal scorers.

This effort down forward was spearheaded by Corey Wilson finishing with three goals and Anthony Palmer with two goals for the game. Oakleigh continued to fight back in the second half with Shane Borland and Tim Doherty finding lots of the football but tired legs saw De La Salle hold on and remain in top spot in the masters competition.

Oakleigh 0.1, 2.1, 2.3, 5.5 (35)
De La Salle 7.1, 10.4, 11.5, 12.9 (81)

Oakleigh goals: M. Harrison, S. Borland, L. Taunt, C. Kirkup , R. Tily
De La Salle goals: C. Wilson 3, A. Palmer 2, W. Fenton, J. Costello, J. Oakley, D. Close, J. Philactides, R. Marks, S. Shannon

Oakleigh best: S. Borland, T. Doherty, M. Harrison, P. Holden, L. Taunt, R. Tily
De La Salle best: C. Wilson, T. Moloney, D. Close, W. Fenton, D. Lowe, J. Costello

Game two of the masters footy festival saw St Kevin’s up against the Marcellin Bald Eagles Blue. St Kevin’s had the wind advantage in the first quarter as they kicked five quick goals before quarter time. The Eagles however, held their ground in the second quarter with Tim Montagna and Charlie Ray leading the charge.

Luke Boyd was strong across the backline and restricted St Kevin’s from kicking further goals leading into the main break, but it was still SKOB who held a 23-point margin at half time.

The comeback for Marcellin came in the last quarter with five late goals. Charlie Ray led from the front with four goals and two goals to Grant Hudson but it wasn’t enough for the Eagles with St Kevin’s standing firm in the last five minutes of the game. Matt Shannon, Chris Morley and Jack Mullen all hit the scoreboard with two goals each and Rick Caldow and Josh Dempsey were standout players around the contest. Despite the late charge from the Eagles, St Kevin’s as a team held their nerve and recorded their
third win of the masters season where they now sit third on the ladder behind Oakleigh.

St Kevins 5.1, 6.2, 9.5, 10.6 (66)
Marcellin Bald Eagles 1.1, 2.3, 3.5, 8.6 (54)

St Kevins goals: J. Mullen 2, C. Morley 2, M. Shannon 2, N. Marchesani, R. Caldow, S. Landers, P. Holland
Marcellin goals: W. Ray 4, G. Hudson 2, J. Smith, D. Cracknell

St Kevins best: M. Shannon, G. Holland, R. Caldow, J. Dempsey, P. Boyle, L. Giles
Marcellin best: T. Montagna, L. Boyd, D. Redmond, J. Bortolotto, W. Ray

The VAFA will continue to look at format’s like the footy festival to engage VAFA players with Elsternwick Park, highlight a section through dedicated Live stream’s and help with promotion of teams and clubs in the week through VAFA Media.