Close encounters highlight an epic weekend of Division 1

Round 7 produced nail-biters aplenty in Division 1 with an average winning margin of 14 points across the section. The Monash Blues broke their drought with their first of the season, whilst Ormond continued their unbeaten run, sitting one game clear on top of the ladder.

Ormond have firmly established themselves as the team to beat, overcoming Oakleigh at home by 9-points in a high scoring affair.

Both sides have been damaging in front of goal this year with Oakleigh’s Luke Ashen and Ormond’s Samuel Bailey amongst this section’s leading goal-kickers, so it was no surprise that one team cracked the triple digits in this match and the other wasn’t far behind.

Ormond started on top with the opening four goals to send an early message that they will be hard to beat at home. The Krushers found two late goals to be trailing by just 12 points at quarter-time and carried this momentum into the second quarter to make the most of opportunities inside 50 and edged ahead to be leading by 6-points at half-time.

A thrilling start to the third quarter saw back and forth goals as both sides brought pressure and intensity to each contest. However, it was Ormond who got ahead in the final stages of the term with three consecutive goals to lead by a narrow 12-points at three quarter time.

The game was still up for grabs heading into the fourth quarter; enter Oakleigh’s Luke Ashen who found three back-to-back goals to put his side in front, however Ormond retaliated and defended well to score five of the last seven goals to get over the line and claim the four points. The final scoreboard reading 16.8 (104) to 13.17 (95) going the way of Ormond.

On a high-scoring day, Luke Ashen impressed with six goals for Oakleigh whilst Ormond’s Thomas Nicholls kicked five majors.

UHS-VU recorded their third win of season 2025 in a nail-biting 2-point victory over Therry Penola.

UHS-VU burst out of the blocks early with a dominant first quarter to lead by 24-points at quarter time, but Therry Penola responded swiftly with six goals to six different players in the second term to turn their deficit into a lead of 3-points at the main break.

Unfortunately for Therry Penola, they stagnated in the third term only managing two behinds as UHS-VU took full advantage of what could be deemed the ‘scoring end’ with four more goals – so at the end of the third quarter, those particular goal posts had thirteen of the seventeen goals kicked through them.

Ultimately, UHS-VU’s lead of 23-points at three quarter time proved to be enough as whilst Therry Penola managed three more goals in the final quarter, they fell agonisingly short by 2 points.

Brandon Jackson impressed with four goals for the victorious UHS side, whilst Jack Pelosi, Jack Viola and Nicholas Castaldi were amongst the best players for Therry Penola.

This game has massive ladder ramifications for Therry Penola who have dropped down to 9th after Monash’s first win, whilst UHS-VU are a game and percentage out of the four.

After the Preston Bullants lead for the majority of the day, a crushing final quarter by Old Peninsula saw them return home 34-point winners.

The Bullants virtually silenced the Pirates in the opening stages of this game with the first five goals going their way and by the time quarter-time arrived, they lead by 21-points. The Pirates clawed back some ground in the second quarter to be trailing by just 16-points at half-time, but both sides could’ve been further ahead if not for inaccuracy in front of goal.

Both sides kept each other accountable in a very even third quarter with ebbs and flows for both teams. The last quarter was shaping up to be intriguing with the game well and truly open for either side. The Bullants kicked the opening goal to give them some breathing room, but things quickly turned from there as the Pirates piled on the pain with the next eight consecutive goals to put this game to bed and comfortably claim victory.

Tom Hill starred up forward for Preston with three goals whilst George Fletcher, Max Kleverkamp and Jaycob Johnson were some of the key players for Old Peninsula.

After starting the season so well, Kew lost their second match in a 9-point defeat to a resurgent Brunswick side.

On their home deck at Gillon Oval, Brunswick started off in style with a strong forward display in the first quarter as Kew were let down by inaccuracy in front of goal. Brunswick continued to surge in the second quarter, but the Bears weren’t far behind, trailing by 16-points at the main break.

To Kew’s credit, they didn’t give up and kept finding ways to stay involved in contests, but Brunswick were a step ahead of them in the third term to increase their lead to 29-points at three-quarter time.

A remarkable swing in momentum happened in the fourth quarter which saw Kew pounce on opportunities at centre and inside 50 to kick three goals and limit Brunswick to just two behinds, but it wasn’t enough as Brunswick were rewarded for their first three quarters and claimed the four points.

Thomas Wilson kicked four goals for the winning Brunswick, whilst Regan Smith, Ned Ward and Ned Waters each contributed two majors for Kew.

After winning their Round 1 match, Brunswick went on to lose their next three but have since won three on the trot and are deservedly placing themselves as a side to keep a watch on since being promoted from Division 2.

The Monash Blues recorded their first win of 2025 with a 14-point victory over Elsternwick are still searching for their first four points in Division 1.

After seven behinds started off proceedings in the first quarter, Monash improved that with two goals and banked a 15-point lead at quarter-time. Both sides were equal on the scoreboard in the second quarter as Elsternwick kept themselves within striking distance.

Monash began to break away in the third quarter with their goals coming in both the immediate and latter stages of this term. Elsternwick will be ruing missed opportunities in the fourth quarter as they kicked two goals and nine behinds which resulted in them falling 14-points short in a game they could’ve won.

Both King brothers, Charles and Mitchell, stood out for Monash, whilst despite the tough loss, Elsternwick had a number of players stand up for their team including Jack Kirkham, Paul Sanderson, and Daniel Marchese with two goals.

Round 8 sees UHS-VU (7th) hosting the Monash Blues (8th), Kew (3rd) hosting the undefeated Ormond (1st), the Preston Bullants (4th) taking on a red-hot Brunswick (5th) side, Oakleigh (6th) meeting with Therry Penola (9th), and Elsternwick (10th) playing the ever-reliable Old Peninsula (2nd).