Razorbacks are in the box seat for top two

Billy Bolch

Round 16 of the VAFA saw an incredibly close result, a team’s heartbreak, a team’s jubilation and a team put another tick on their resume. The round also saw the division’s leading goal scorer tally get more interesting as Masala’s Declan Fowler (62) now leads La Trobe’s Riley Alexander (60) with Fowler having one game left in the home & away season. 

Albert Park took on La Trobe in an extremely important match for both teams but more so for the Falcons with the game an elimination final for the home side. La Trobe managed to get off to a strong start kicking 4 unanswered goals to gain an early advantage. Albert Park came out strong in the second quarter in what was a low-scoring part of the game.  

La Trobe came out of the break kicking six goals, doubling their score in the process. Leading by 47 points heading into the final term, the Falcons needed a push and they put together their best quarter however it wasn’t enough to topple La Trobe who added on another four goals in what was a quality 62-point win. 

Jack Lee led the goal scoring for the Falcons with 2 majors. Other contributors included Enver Krasnic, Alexander Evans, Tyson Cattle and Reece French-Lightfoot who kicked a goal each. Riley Alexander and Matthew Ogle kicked 3 goals each for the Trobers. Teammates Patrick McCormack and Joseph De Angelis kicked 2 goals each. The best for the Falcons include Zak Knight, Jack Amies and Jack Twite. Best players for the Trobers include Robert Fawcett, Andy Castles and Archie Conboy

Albert Park will now have the bye in round 17 before finishing off their season in a clash against Eley Park. La Trobe will look to secure their double chance as they host Box Hill North at home.

St John’s battled Swinburne in a 2nd vs 3rd matchup. The winner puts themselves in a great position for a double chance with a fortnight to go in the season. St John’s got off to the stronger start kicking four goals to one, taking a 16-point lead. Swinburne then started to build momentum in the second kicking two goals whilst keeping the JOCS to a single goal for the quarter. 

The Razorbacks capitalised further with a massive third quarter kicking seven goals. Down by 24 going into the final break, the JOCS needed to have a strong finish and that’s exactly what they did, kicking four goals in a row to take a 1-point lead. With 15 minutes to go Razorback Trent Ryan kicked his second goal and ultimately the matchwinner. With the siren sounding 10 minutes later, it was the Razorbacks that were victorious by five points in the divisions’ match of the round. 

Benjamin Ayache led with four majors. Teammates Nicholas Terrill and Michael Horton kicked twp goals each for the JOCs. Swinburne’s Tyson Wiegold took over with four goals with other contributors including Trent Ryan and Aidan Vesty who kicked 2 majors. The best for the JOCs included Corey Ely, Jake Duffus and Jarrod Ely. The best for the Razorbacks included Zachary Cooke, Oliver Morris and Zachary Lassey. 

St Johns will now look to rebound and chase down a chance at the double chance as they take on Eley Park away. Swinburne will now host Masala in what will be a huge match for both teams. 

The final match of the round saw Masala take on Eley Park in what was a major game for the Tigers. The game for many was anyone’s for the taking as the Sharks won the last meeting by a goal. Masala came out of the gates strong starting the game off well kicking six goals whilst only keeping the Sharks to a single goal. Masala was still able to keep their momentum during the second term adding another four goals to go into the major break by 47 points. 

An even third term, before the Tigers exploded in the final quarter to come away winners by 84 points and securing Masala a place in the finals, their first finals appearance in club history. 

The best players for the Tigers included Matt Decarne, Jake Dunkley and Noah Scott. The best players for the Sharks were Ben Field, Andrew Yeo and Shannon Blewitt. Declan Fowler dominated in front of goal with 8 majors, other goal kickers for the Tigers included Tom Williamson (3), Ben Nugent (2) and Brandon Kelly (2). Tom Johnston was the leader up forward for the Sharks with 4 goals. Jacob Baddock, Alex Devlin, Stephen Roberts and Daniel Smith all kicked a goal for the Sharks. 

Masala will look to continue their winning form as the Tigers make the trip to Swinburne to build some pre-finals momentum. Eley Park will now face another tough task as they host St Johns at home. 

Box Hill had the bye, will now make the trip out to La Trobe to take on the league’s top team in what will be a tough match for the Demons.