Preston Bullants take down flag hopefuls

Fresh off a one-week bye, teams came out all guns blazing in Round 12 of the Division 1 Men’s competition. The weekend saw the Preston Bullants show the depth of their ability, upsetting the UHS-VU in a last-quarter thriller. Meanwhile Prahran have been climbing the ranks, posting win after win, in a good run of form to find themselves sitting a game clear on top.

Prahran had yet another strong performance at home defeating third placed Ormond by 19 points to secure themselves at the top of the table. Signs were positive early on for the Monders as midfielder Jackson Hille took a ripping speccy at half forward and young-gun Luke Kennedy back in the lineup impacted the scoreboard.

Kyle Pinto’s side were a bit more efficient going inside 50 giving them a seven-point lead at quarter-time. In the second term, Prahran’s game got going and so did small forward Taylor Bamford who thrived in the wet conditions kicking three goals in a row midway through the second quarter. Monders forward Aidan Soria kicked a much-needed steadier before half time to keep them within 10 points.

In the third term, Prahran’s midfielders James Musster and Matt Clifford started to dominate the young midfield of the Monders. Not only did Prahran’s heat around the contest overwhelm the opposition but the key talls were ferocious.

Ruckman Rory Brodie led from the front in the aerial battle alongside Shaun Chapman who was welcomed back into the team. A 7-goal to 1 premiership quarter put the game to bed.

The Monders responded in the last term with some bolder ball movement by Rhys Kennedy on the half-back line and some wins in the centre bounces helped them kick five goals on the bounce.

West Brunswick surged past Therry Penola in the last quarter to win by 12 points on the weekend. It was a day of momentum shifts for both sides with lead changes at quarter time as well as the main break.

Magpies forward Bill Irving played his best game for the year kicking 5 goals and Emlyn Nettleton in the ruck worked hard around the ground.

Therry Penola were playing a great brand of football leading by 10 points at three-quarter time until Magpies forward Thomas Zafiropoulos had other plans. After not impacting the scoreboard prior to the last term Zafiropolous wheeled himself to kick 3 game-defining majors to help his side get in front. The Magpies’ heat around the ball in the last term was the key in what were tough conditions.

Parkside got back on the winner’s list in a high scoring battle against Old Peninsula by 25 points.

It was goal for goal in the first three quarters with both sides showing plenty of skill and flair. The midfield battle between the Devils’ Benedict Douglas, and Michael Romano against Pirates Kurt Thiele and Jake Lovett was a great one.

In the past month the Devils have struggled to get over the line after three-quarter time but were determined to get the points as Rick Frost’s side took a 5-point lead at the last break.

The Pirates got the first blood in the last quarter to give them the lead, but a five-goal burst by the Devils ended their three-game losing streak.

Devils’ defender Luciano Logozzo floated forward to kick three goals for the match and some great pressure by Louis Grist and Luke Caldwell helped their side entrench themselves in the top four.

The Preston Bullants got a spark back after the bye round defeating UHS-VU in game that went down to the wire.

The Vulture’s defence struggled to cope with the fast ball movement by the Preston Bullants in the first three quarters and Alex Johnston provided a great presence by kicking the 4 goals.

The Preston Bullants midfield of Luke Green and Hugo Byron worked in tandem as the Vultures trailed by five goals at three-quarter time.

It was all but over as the Vulture’s midfield got to work to stage a late comeback with Harrison Kennedy kicking them back within a goal late. Ultimately, inaccuracy cost the Vultures kicking (6.18) and the young Preston Bullants side held on to claim a big scalp.

The Kew Bears continued their winning streak, comfortably defeating the Old Yarra Cobras by 58 points.

The Bears coming off the bye round were off to a flyer with a 5-goal to 1 start.

Connection inside 50 from the Bears continued to be positive with Ned Waters, Cameron Roberts and Joshua Maccarrone all proving a handful for the Old Yarra Cobras defence.

With the Old Yarra Cobras trailing by 32 points at the main break the midfield needed to lift, and Tom Bell certainly led his side to a response in the third term.

With just a 4-goal differential heading into the last term, the Old Yarra Cobras believed they could place more scoreboard pressure, but five goals on the bounce by the Bears put an end to it.

Round 13 sees a top of the table clash between Prahran and UHS-VU. Last time these two sides met, the Vultures put away Prahran by a convincing 65 points but since then their opposition have improved immensely.

Therry Penola are back at home against Parkside. The young Therry Penola side would be rueing the missed opportunity on the weekend but will love the challenge to shake up the top four.

Kew will come up against Old Peninsula at Victoria Park in a must win match for both sides. The Pirates outclassed the Bears at home in their recent history – will home ground advantage work the other way this weekend?

Ormond will be looking to respond after the weekend’s loss as they come up against the Preston Bullants. In their previous match up, the Bullants almost pulled off an upset but couldn’t quite stick to their brand for the full four quarters.

The Old Yarra Cobras play West Brunswick at Koonung Reserve. In the past month, the Magpies have been extremely competitive and will be looking to get their fourth win of the season.