Monash the new clubhouse leader while Rovers win ugly

Hugh Maclean

Premier C Men’s has a new ladder leader, with Monash Blues edging ahead of Hampton Rovers on percentage, following a demolition of Preston.

Mazenod overtook Old Ivanhoe on the points table with a hard-fought win away from home.  The key to this match was that Mazenod took greater advantage of the breeze to kick eleven goals to the scoring end where their opponents only kicked six.  The home team had the benefit first but only came into quarter time with a five point lead.  Mazenod took control early in the second term and did not relinquish the momentum.  A three goal half time lead was only diminished by six points by the last change, and Mazenod were untroubled in kicking five goals to two in the final quarter, coasting to a 27 point victory.  Jack Caspersz was clinical in front of goal for Mazenod, kicking four goals with Shaun Lovell best afield.  Sam Wilcox was Old Ivanhoe’s best, with Michael Mitris kicking three goals for the home side.

Old Geelong were unstoppable in the second half against Ormond, turning a solid half-time lead into a thirteen goal demolition.  The general play in the first half was fairly even, albeit that Old Geelong created the better chances for themselves, which was reflected in the fact that they kicked 8.1 to Ormond’s 4.6 at the half.  It was after the main break when Old Geelong took complete control.  Four goals to one in the third term extended the lead to 37 points turning for home, and any hope that Ormond had of a comeback was quickly extinguished in the final term.  Old Geelong banged on eight goals to two at the other end, with a final 77 point margin just the fillip Old Geelong needed leading into the big end-of-season matches.  Chris Hatzis and John Simson kicked five goals each for Old Geelong, but it was Jack Anderson that ran the show on the day.  Mason Martinez gave his best for Ormond, for whom Zach Benson and Matt Hine kicked two goals each.

The embattled Preston Bullants were no match for the rampaging Monash Blues in a one-sided contest at Frearson Oval.  The match was probably done as a contest at quarter time as Preston were held goalless, and by half time the margin had doubled to eight goals.  To their credit, the Preston boys, as they have done in most weeks, kept their heads up and competed as best they could.  They kicked three goals to Monash’s five in the third term, but the floodgates opened in the final quarter with the Blues kicking nine goals to the Bullants’ one to complete a 111 point rout.  Nick Darling continued his good form with six goals, and best-on-ground Zac Ledin registered four goals for the Blues.  Ethan Lowe was Preston’s sole multiple goal kicker with two, whilst Luke Green flew the flag admirably for them.

UHS-VU continued their late-season resurgence with their second successive victory over Old Mentonians.  The University boys started the game running on top of the ground, building on the confidence gained from their win over Marcellin and kicking three of the four goals in the first quarter.  They only kicked two more in the second term, but the defence held up brilliantly in keeping the Panthers goalless.  A 26-point half time deficit is never an easy situation to deal with, but these Old Mentonians boys are made of strong stuff and reduced the damage to a mere five points turning for home.  The last quarter was a tough and desperate affair, as the closeness of the scores dictated, but UHS-VU are now enjoying the winning feeling and refused to be denied.  They held firm to kick three goals to two in the final quarter and complete a twelve point win.  Harrison Rocke and Brandon Jackson kicked two goals each for UHS-VU, for whom Ben Dimattina was brilliant on the day.  Tom Morecroft ploughed a lone farrow up forward for Old Mentonians with four goals.  Tom McCarthy continued his excellent season, being best afield for the Panthers.

Sometimes the best sides need to win ugly.  The Hampton Rovers were hampered by six forced changes from the previous week’s side, and whilst they were the better side around the ground and deserved the win over Marcellin accordingly, it was in front of goal that they struggled.  Early in the day when the match was there to be won, opportunities were wasted meaning that Marcellin took a seven point lead to the main break despite having three fewer scoring shots.  Ben Marron dominated in the Hampton forward line in the third term, but converted only one of his five shots as the Rovers continued their inaccurate day.  To their credit, the Marcellin pressure played a big part in Hampton’s problems, but the ability and system of Hampton Rovers allowed them to grind out a fifteen point win.  Marron finished with two goals for the Rovers, with James Prosser and Joel Melnjak strong.  Lachlan Rush contributed three goals to the Marcellin cause, with Pat Howe kicking two and Daniel Cullinan their best.