Vultures nearly upset the Pirates, Ormond continues to surge

Round 11 of Division 1 Men’s delivered what were arguably predictable results going off ladder positions, however UHS-VU very nearly bucked this trend in an impressive effort against Old Peninsula. Eleven rounds in, the ladder continues to thin out with a two-game buffer now between fifth and sixth.

Ormond continued their unbeaten season with an emphatic 137-point defeat of Therry Penola. The Monders set the tone early in a high scoring first quarter, highlighted by Thomas Nicholls’ impressive forward performance, contributing three of their seven first quarter goals.

Whilst the Lions had better moments in the second quarter, a 48-point margin at half-time was going to be a big ask to reduce.

Unfortunately for the Lions, the second half bluntly told a one-sided story as Ormond time and time again found the footy through the big sticks whilst Therry Penola only managed three more majors for the afternoon.

It was always going to be a tough assignment to knock off the top side, but Ormond were ultimately just too good, winning out on pressure and consistency.

On a day where Ormond kicked a remarkable 30 goals and fell just one point short of the double century, Thomas Nicholls deserves an accolade for kicking 10 off his own boot, taking his season tally to 25 majors. Nicholls was ably supported by Lachlan Crnograc with six goals of his own.

A game of two halves ultimately saw Old Peninsula prevail and defeat UHS-VU by 35-points.

A quick scan of the ladder before this match would suggest the Pirates should easily account for UHS and set this up to be a somewhat uninteresting match, however the first half was far from that.

Both sides fared well in the first quarter with the home side, UHS, banking a six-point lead, and it was UHS who surged ahead in the second quarter, as their midfielders and forwards worked in sync to increase their lead to 19-points at half-time. A possible upset was on the cards here.

Unfortunately for the home side, the Pirates fired up after half-time and reminded everyone why they are in the top two, in an impressive third quarter display kicking seven goals to none. The Pirates led by 26-points at three quarter time which ultimately proved to be too much for UHS to overcome as Old Peninsula claimed the four points.

The Pirates would be well aware that a loss in this game would’ve meant losing their top two spot to Kew, so no doubt there will be lessons from their first half to take into their big clash next week against ladder leaders Ormond.

Valiant in defeat were Sam Adams, Brandon Jackson and Jeffrey Fox, amongst the best players for UHS-VU, whilst Old Peninsula’s leaders, George Fletcher and Max Kleverkamp, were instrumental in the win with four goals each.

The Preston Bullants remains in the top four with a 43-point victory over the Monash Blues.

With both sides fielding a younger team due to a combination of injuries and players jetting off for warmer climates, the first quarter was high-scoring and open which culminated in the Bullants collecting a narrow 3-point lead.

Preston increased their lead to 17-points by half-time thanks to some positive midfield efforts in the second quarter. Preston’s Rory Howard had an impressive, contested possession game whilst the match-up between Green of Preston and King from Monash was one to watch.

Scoring slowed down in the third quarter as team defences prevailed, but ultimately Monash could not keep up with Preston’s scoring as the Bullants surged home with five goals to three in the last quarter to claim victory.

Preston’s forward power of Patrick Davies and Tom Hill proved too difficult to stop with four goals to each of them, whilst Fraser Bennett, Jack Hooper and Archer Vague were amongst the best players for the Blues.

The most interesting encounter of the weekend shaped up to be 5th placed Oakleigh hosting 6th placed Brunswick, which resulted in the home side Oakleigh leaving 42-point winners.

There was a lot riding on this game for both sides but particularly Brunswick in which a win would’ve kept them in close touch with the top four.

The Krushers led early with the first four goals falling their way. Brunswick found one soon after but a late goal to Oakleigh gave them a healthy 21-point lead at quarter time.

A high-scoring second quarter followed for both sides, but the Krushers managed to increase their margin to 25 points.

The third quarter played out much like the second and with the three-quarter time margin being a similar 23 points, there was hope in the Brunswick camp that a dominant fourth quarter could turn this game around.

Going into the fourth quarter, it was important for Brunswick to make a strong start so to not mentally switch off, but unfortunately for Brunswick, it was Oakleigh who kicked the first four majors to be leading by 47-points at the five-minute mark of the term.

This proved to be too much for Brunswick to reduce as the Krushers comfortably got home to finish the round in 5th, only out of the four by the narrowest of percentages (0.55%).

Luke Ashen continued his successful season with eight goals for Oakleigh, whilst Brunswick’s Paul Scamporlino was also amongst the goals with five majors to his name.

Kew reinforced their September credentials in a 50-point victory over Elsternwick.

The first goal only arrived ten minutes into the opening quarter, off the boot of Elsternwick’s Will Easton, but Kew swiftly responded and led by 21-points at quarter-time. The second quarter saw Kew push further ahead, capitalising on opportunities inside 50 and moving the footy well to build their lead up to 40-points at half-time.

The game hit somewhat of a stalemate and slowed down in the third quarter which saw both sides walk away with a goal apiece, and despite some impressive efforts late in the fourth quarter from Elsternwick’s forward line, it was too late as the Bears claimed victory.

Sam Heaton was amongst the best players for Kew with five goals to his name, whilst Blake Pantas, Jack Kirkham and Will Easton were some of the best performers for Elsternwick.

Many exciting matchups await in Round 12, one of those being a clash between the two heavyweights of the section, Ormond (1st) travelling to play Old Peninsula (2nd). The Pirates have made Harry MacDonald Oval their fortress this season and have cause to be optimistic about their chances of knocking off the top side, although it won’t be easy.

Brunswick (6th) host UHS-VU (7th) in a must-win game for Brunswick to keep their finals hopes alive, whilst Kew (3rd) host Oakleigh (5th), the Monash Blues (8th) host Therry Penola (10th), and Elsternwick (9th) host the Preston Bullants (4th).