Still all to play for in Premier C with September looming

Hugh MacLean

The battle between the top two sides proved to be a bit of a fizzer, whilst the picture in the lower half of the top four remained no clearer in round 19.  Here’s what took place…

The much-anticipated clash between the two top sides turned out to be little more than a training run for Monash, and probably handed them the minor premiership at the same time. Missing several key players plus their coach, Hampton Rovers did not have the cattle to put up a lot of resistance here. That’s not to take anything away from Monash Blues – they did what they had to do and did it with a style that justified their premiership favouritism. Monash kept Hampton scoreless in the first term, and had five goals on the board before Hampton troubled the scorers. When the game opened up in the second half it was the Blues that were able to take advantage, kicking nine goals in the second half whilst having their defences breached just the once to complete a resounding victory, although one that will tell us little about the September battles to come. Ned Gray and Max Coughlin did best for Hampton Rovers, who were no match for Nick Darling’s seven majors for Monash. Macgregor Cameron and James Flett were excellent for the high-flying Blues.

Parkdale’s second half fadeout left them with a huge mountain to climb if they are to be successful in their late charge towards finals. They set up an eight-point half-time lead with a solid display in a game where defences held sway.  Sadly for the Vultures they were only able to record three points in the second half as Mazenod jacked two goals in the third quarter and 1.6 in the last, which was enough to keep knocking at the door of the top four themselves. Mazenod cannot afford any slip-ups at this stage if they are to play in September, and the desperation that they showed in this match indicates that they will not give up the chase without one hell of a fight. Jack Sullivan was excellent in front of goal with three for Mazenod whilst livewire Nick Pascuzzi kicked two, and Mitchell Fewings was dominant around the ground. Lloyd Bailey and Liam Purcell kicked two goals each for Parkdale, for whom Charlie Yee continued his recent good form.

Two early Esubalew Ramsay goals proved to be a false dawn for UHS-VU, with the side only registering one more goal for the day. Old Geelong still have much to play for, and they were not to let this opportunity for a percentage boost to slip. They registered five first quarter goals to take a 24-point lead to the first break, and whilst they kicked inaccurately in the second term, this was only a temporary glitch. With Connor Dixon and Joe Griffiths leading the way in the front half with four goals each, Old Geelong kicked the only nine goals of the second half to run out victorious to the tune of 97 points. William Sloss and Jacob Jess were best afield for Old Geelong, whilst Ramsay and Ned Couper-Johnston shone for the University.

The plucky Northern Bullants lost no admirers at EE Gunn Reserve, but were just a little outclassed by an Ormond side keen to finish a difficult season on a positive note, and possibly make a late run at fourth place. Ormond kicked six goals to three in the first quarter to establish a foothold on the match, but Preston fought as if their lives depended on it in the middle quarters to trail by just 19 points at the last change. The class of the Ormond forward line carried them home in the last quarter, kicking seven goals without blemish to record a 43-point victory to show that they may be coming from well back, but they aren’t going away any time soon. Tom Buckley and Jeremy Simon kicked three goals each for Ormond, with Zach Benson excellent for the brown and blue. Preston had none better than Michael Sortino, whilst Patrick Taylor, Conor Howard and Luke Sutton kicked two goals each for the battling Bullants.

Old Mentonians pulled victory from the jaws of defeat against Marcellin, having been behind from the middle of the second quarter and only securing victory right at the death.  The Panthers started well enough, kicking four goals to two in the first stanza before Marcellin kicked the only four goals of the second quarter to seize the initiative heading into the main break. Old Mentonians reduced the margin from thirteen to seven in the third term but both sides still had all to play for in the final quarter. Marcellin kicked an early goal in the last term and it looked as though that would be enough, but two late goals from the Panthers saw the lead change decisively and the four points remained at Keysborough. Tom Morecroft was again instrumental in Old Mentonians’ win with three goals, with Stuart Harris and Lachlan Mirams their best.  Marcellin had eight individual goal kickers, with Ry Elphinstone and Patrick Hamblin strong on the day.

Old Ivanhoe bye