Young mids help Hawks to second win of the season

Just two wins separate third from seventh after Round 9 of the Division 2 Men’s competition.

West Brunswick moved up to third on the ladder following their 38-point win over Whitefriars at Ransford Oval. Both teams started slow – kicking just one goal each in the opening quarter – before things opened up as the game went on.

Magpies coach Regan Tait’s pre-game message was all about keeping things simple and trying to take control of the game from the outset.

“I was really impressed with how the boys strung all four quarters together yesterday. We didn’t have a lapse, which has been one of our weak spots this year. [But] we made a bit of hard work for ourselves with our goalkicking” Tait said of his teams 11.27 (93) performance.

Friars coach Lucas Matthews said his team failed to execute in the tricky conditions.

“We had a [game] style and a plan of how we wanted to go… but when we moved the ball, we just punted it straight down the line, which played into their hands.”

Matthews was hoping to regain skipper Max Warrick and reigning best and fairest Tom Jacontine ahead of next week’s clash.

“We had eight back through the twos yesterday, which was fantastic. We’ll look to get more players back and get games into them, and look to have a red-hot crack after the bye.”

St Mary’s Salesian defeated St John’s by 26 points to remain on top of the Division 2 Men’s ladder, keeping their half a game lead over Old Yarra for at least another week. The two teams went goal-for-goal in the opening quarter, with Anton Circelli giving the Saints a six-point lead late in the first – one they would not relinquish for the remainder of the game.

“We had some really good patches mixed in with some poor patches,” said St Mary’s coach Clay Tait. “I was really happy with the first three quarters, but I reckon we went to sleep a little bit in the last and let them get a bit of a run on.”

Jacob McElroy bagged six goals for the Saints (his third haul of five or more for the year), while Tait felt second-year midfielder Hudson Ryan is starting to hit his straps after spending more time in defence in 2024.

Old Yarra Cobras bounced back from their first loss of the season in Round 8, beating Canterbury by 55 points in the first Cobra Cup of 2025. Old Yarra burst out of the blocks, leading 46-0 at quarter time.

“I think we’ve started the last four or five games getting jumped by 24 to 30 points, so we really put the emphasis on starting well. But then Canterbury got in there and had a crack – they put a bit more pressure on and we were a bit more conservative,” said Old Yarra coach Nathan Monaco, who praised the efforts of debutant Charlie Arthurton – the 37^th player used by Old Yarra this season.  

“He’s a big boy and I think eventually he’ll be a good inside mid for us, but for now it’s about learning the defensive side of the game at a senior level. He made sure his man wasn’t getting near it, and I don’t think his direct opponent scored a goal, so we’re wrapped with him.”

Canterbury coach Seve Brown conceded Old Yarra were too good early, but was pleased with how his side responded after the first break.

“We couldn’t get any pressure on the ball in the first quarter, but we stuck to our game plan after quarter time. We started winning the footy around the stoppages and lifted our tackle count – our effort and pressure definitely increased.”

Brown praised James Boarotto for his five-goal return and Michael Wheeler for his outstanding performance in the ruck.

After starting 0-4, South Melbourne Dsitricts has won their fifth game on the trot after they defeated MHSOB by 27 points at Melbourne High School. South Melbourne kept MHSOB to a solitary point in the first quarter, with the Unicorns’ first goal coming almost six minutes into the second.

Bernie Pretty named Mathew Pereira among Melbourne High’s best for the fourth time in nine matches following his three-goal performance. Pereira sits third on the goalkicking table, behind Bill Irving (West Brunswick, 32) and Jack Hall (Old Yarra, 31).

Bloods coach Nick Abbott described the win as another step in the right direction as we move into the second half of the season.

“We’ve been able to get some consistency and hone in on how we want to play. Our next three weeks are against the top teams, so that will be a good guide as to where we are at,” he said.

The win sees the Bloods draw level on points with the Unicorns, with both sides now sitting two points out of the top four.

Hawthorn recorded their first victory since April with a nine-point win over Aquinas, who have lost their last two games by less than 12 points. The Bloods led by five points at the main break after a back-and-forth first half before the Hawks kicked six of the last nine goals to claim their first away win of the season.

Winning coach Mark Murray admitted he copped a bit of flack for naming a young midfield group ahead of the Round 9 clash but felt their performances were a key part to the result.

“We’ve got a big group of 18-year-olds that came across from Scotch College together, and I thought they were really good in the midfield, they worked really hard and were good defensively. Seb Poole and Charlie Hicks were strong over the ball, which is something we’ve been lacking, and Ollie Knight [performed well] down back.

Aquinas coach Craig Glennie was disappointed with his side’s performance.

“I thought we’d had a pretty good week on the track, [but] we let ourselves down with our ball use. Hawthorn took their opportunities, and we didn’t. We got urgent late when we were 16 points down, but by that stage the damage was done.”

Despite the loss, Glennie was pleased with Leon Holewa’s efforts in his 49^th game for the club (five goals), and Jacob Costello’s performance at centre-half back.

Round 10 action sees Whitefriars host St John’s, Canterbury squares off against MHSOB, while South Melbourne Districts will look to make it six consecutive wins when they do battle with West Brunswick. Elsewhere, ladder leaders St Mary’s Salesian play Hawthorn, and Aquinas will hope to avoid a repeat of their 117-point loss in Round 2 with a return match against Old Yarra Cobras.