Defence dominates Division 2 as seven teams remain in finals contention

The top two teams in Division 2 Men’s are all but confirmed, but competition remains hot on the rest of the table.

A strong defensive performance from Old Yarra Cobras served as the foundation of their 57-point victory over West Brunswick. The Cobras conceded just one goal after quarter time and four for the whole match, which coach Nathan Monaco described as a “massive result” for his side.

“Luke Morris, who was Manningham’s captain before the merger, has come back [to the club] this year,” said Monaco. “And he’s been huge for us down back – he quietly goes about his business and does his job.” Morris nullified the efforts of Magpies forward Bill Irving, holding him goalless for the first time this season.

Old Yarra’s combination of Jack Hall (four goals) and Jackson Lesko (three) were dangerous up forward, with Monaco saying the pair complemented each other nicely. “[Jack] has really benefited from the addition of [Jackson] – he gets up the ground pretty hard and works his ass off, which helps Jack with a bit of space.”

Magpies coach Regan Tait praised the effort of wingman Jack Coltish in just his second senior and tenth career game. “He popped up at training one day and wanted to have a run. We felt we could use his speed, athleticism, and tank on the wing for us. It was a tough day on the park against a more experienced opponent, but he’s shown a lot of promise.”

St John’s recorded their first win since May in a high-scoring affair against Hawthorn at Rathmines Road Reserve, with the final scoreboard reflecting 15.14 (104) to 17.22 (124).

The Hawks kicked two goals in as many minutes to open the first quarter and added a third three minutes later before Joshua Morant kicked his first of eight for St John’s.

The JOC’s upped the pressure in the second to turn a 19-point quarter time deficit into a six-point lead at the main break.

Hawthorn kicked the first of the second half off the boot of Jack Kenny to draw level before St John’s bagged three in quick succession to put themselves back out in front.

The home side rallied hard in the last quarter (6.2) but the visitors were equal to the task (5.7), resulting in a 20-point win to St John’s.

JOC’s coach Tim Edwards said gave captain Corey Eli more of an opportunity to speak at the final change. “If it feels like all the leaders are really pushing, rather than hearing the same old, tired voice saying the same thing over and over, you end up as a bit more of a unit,” Edwards explained.

Whitefriars’ poor run of form continued with a 29-point road loss to South Melbourne Districts. The Friars burst out of the blocks, kicking four goals to one in the opening quarter to lead by 18 points at the first break. But it was largely one-way traffic from then on, with the Bloods kicking five of the next six goals across the second and third quarters to see them hold a 10-point lead at three quarter time.

A further five goals to two in the last saw South Melbourne win at home for the third time this season and exact revenge for the 50-point loss to Friars in Round 4.  

Bloods coach Nick Abbott said it was good to get a win against a top four side. “We had an undermanned team but were able to play through the next man up mentality, take the learnings from other home games, and put them into practice.”

Friars coach Lucas Matthews said his side started well but didn’t take their chances when it mattered. “We would gain momentum and then either take the foot off the accelerator or give away a free kick, meaning we didn’t get a chance to put the other side under pressure.”

Canterbury won a hard-fought game against Aquinas to extend their winning streak to five matches, reaching triple figures for the sixth time this season despite the breezy conditions. “We’ve been playing some really good footy over the last four to five weeks and we wanted to make sure that we stayed at that level,” Cobras coach Steve Brown said after the 39-point victory.

Cobra forwards Mitch Szabo and Charlie Deacon had immediate impact in their first games since Rounds 5 and 9 respectively, each slotting four goals. The pair received good supply from Michael Wheeler, who rucked all day, and midfielders Michael Topp and Seb Gotch. “It was a mature performance,” said Brown.

Bloods coach Craig Glennie felt his team had some promising passages of ball movement (“we’ve got a lot of speed, and there was a few times we went end to end just with our hands and kicked goals”) but felt that each time they scored, they would quickly concede one (“we’d kick a goal and then they would kick one back straight out of the middle… you can’t make [up] any ground when you’re allowing that to happen”).

MHSOB and St Mary’s Salesian continued their recent run of tight finishes, with the Saints claiming a five-point victory in the low-scoring affair to ensure five of the last six clashes between the pair have been decided by less than a goal. St Mary’s pulled away to a 19-point lead at three quarter time after an even first half and held off a late charge from the Unicorns.

St Mary’s coach Clay Tait said the defensive pressure from both sides led to a scrappy and contested game, but that his side were able to capitalise on the scoreboard when they had the momentum. “We had a 10-to-15-minute patch in the second quarter and another 10-to-15-minute patch in the third where we kicked six of our eight goals for the day. It was a bit lucky, but an ugly win is still a win.”

Round 15 features a mouthwatering first versus second clash between Old Yarra Cobras and St Mary’s Salesian at Koonung Reserve. The result of this matchup will have significant implications for who will finish top of the ladder at the end of the season with just two points separating the clubs with four rounds to play.

West Brunswick will look to consolidate their place in the top four when they play host to Hawthorn, while Canterbury travel to Thomas Carroll Reserve to continue their potential push towards finals against St John’s. MHSOB can replace Whitefriars in fourth place if the Unicorns emerge victorious when these two teams face off, and South Melbourne will also be aiming to keep pressure on the two teams against them in their match against bottom-placed Aquinas.