Top four spots confirmed as Synners deliver the upset of the season

For the first time in their return to Senior Men’s Divisional football, Chadstone have won back-to-back games with a 14-point victory over Albert Park.

Travelling away for the game, it was the Synners that got out to a solid start, managing to score the first three goals of the match to lead by 17 points after the first quarter.

Chadstone would continue to hold its lead throughout the game despite the Falcons closing their lead to single digits in the second quarter and into halftime.

Following the main break, the Synners would jump out of the gate, raring to go as they kicked four of the first five goals in the third to lead by 26 points halfway through the third, with an upset becoming an increasing possibility.

But with the Falcons scoring two goals in quick succession, it was anyone’s game heading into the final quarter.

Both teams would have plenty of chances during the start, but could only muster points, with it taking until the 17th minute for Chadstone to score the first goal of the final term.

They would continue trading goals throughout the quarter, which would see the Synners hold on.

It is a monumental win for the Synners, who had not defeated a side outside of Eley Park before their clash against the Falcons since their re-entry last year.

This win also means that they have avoided the wooden spoon and improved on last year’s win count of two.

For the Falcons, it is a disastrous result considering that they had more scoring shots than Chadstone. And with this unexpected loss, it now rules them out of finals and confirms that Power House, Wattle Park, North Brunswick and Richmond Central will all play finals in 2025.

Richmond Central defeated Eley Park by 165 points as they continue to boost their percentage in the final weeks of the home and away season.

The Snakes would dominate the match right from the beginning, holding Eley Park scoreless in the first quarter. But despite generating 13 scoring shots on goal in the period, they only had a scoreline of four goals and nine behinds, with six of those coming in a row.

The accuracy got slightly better but remained under 50% as they kicked eight goals and 11 behinds. But despite it, they were able to lead the Sharks by 92 points as Eley Park remained scoreless.

The margin would continue to grow into the third and fourth quarters, with it taking until the start of the fourth quarter for Eley Park to get on the scoreboard with a goal and a behind.  

Despite losing by 165 points, the Sharks were lucky, as it could have been equal or worse than their previous match with the Snakes, kicking 23 goals and 34 behinds for the match.

Following this loss, Eley Park will finish this year as the wooden spooners for the competition, as they remain winless.

Power House has returned to the top of the ladder with a nail-biting 12-point win against North Brunswick.

Having lost their last two games against top four sides in Wattle Park and Richmond Central, Power House needed this win going into finals to show that they were still capable of beating these sides.

And with that motivation, they started the game strong, kicking the first four goals of the match and finishing the quarter with an 18-point lead.

Their form would continue into the second quarter with goals from Harry Officer, Travis Scotland, Cianan Doherty and Luke Stubbs pushing Power House’s lead up to 43 points at halftime.

However, the Bulls were able to get themselves back into the game, albeit slowly, as they cut the margin back to 38 points at three-quarter time.

But in the fourth, North Brunswick would kick five goals to Power House’s one to bring the lead down to under two goals with 10 minutes remaining in the quarter.

However, Power House would score two important behinds to hold on to victory.

With their 13th win this season, Power House secured its spot in the finals. The Bulls would also qualify despite the loss, thanks to Albert Park and Box Hill North losing.

Wattle Park has managed to overcome a slow start to beat Box Hill North by 59 points to secure their spot in the finals.

Having beaten the Animals in Round 8, the Demons were hopeful that they could do it again.

And in the first quarter, Box Hill North looks set to defeat them for a second time with their leading goal kicker, Blake Williams, kicking three of the Demons’ four goals for the quarter to lead by 13 points at the first break.

But after that, it was Wattle Park who proceeded to dominate the game.

In the second quarter, they were able to flip the margin in their favour, leading by 12 points at halftime.

And it would be more of the same in the third quarter. However, the Animals could only extend their lead by a goal.

But in the fourth quarter, the Demons were run off their feet with the Animals kicking eight goals and six behinds to Box Hill North’s two goals and one behind to run out winners.

The win plus North Brunswick losing sees the Animals now move into second place, with only nine percentage points being the difference between them and Power House.

While for Box Hill North, the result officially rules them out of finals contention. Although they still have plenty to play for, with 5th place still up for grabs.

La Trobe University delivered a strong fourth-quarter performance to beat Swinburne University by 15 points.

To start the game, it would be La Trobe that got off to the better start, with the Trobers managing to get out to a 17-point lead at quarter time.

This was largely down to the fact that the Razorbacks were unable to kick a goal from their first five scoring opportunities while La Trobe was slightly more accurate.

In the second quarter, Swinburne managed to find their kicking boots as they kicked four goals straight to reduce the lead to eight points.

And going into three-quarter time, both teams would be tied on 50 points each, with the game well and truly in the balance.

But despite the Razorbacks’ best efforts, the Trobers would boot five goals to their three, which ultimately proved to be the difference between the two sides.

This win sees La Trobe maintain its perfect record of beating the sides below it on the ladder.

It also confirms that they’ll finish seventh on the ladder, which demonstrates the progress made by coach Andy Castles in his second season of coaching this side after finishing ninth last year.

While for Swinburne, they maintain their record of being unable to beat the sides above them on the ladder.

For Round 17, Chadstone and Swinburne will play one another at Jordan Reserve. With both teams tied on three wins, the winner will likely finish 8th on the ladder, with the Synners hoping to make it three wins in a row while Swinburne looks to break a five-game losing streak.

Eley Park will head west to face off against the ladder leaders in Power House. For the boys in green, white and black, a win puts them in the box seat for a top two finish. While for Eley Park, they will be hoping to one-up Chadstone’s upset with a win that would be seismic across the VAFA ecosystem.

In the match of the round, 3rd-placed North Brunswick takes on 2nd-placed Wattle Park with finals seeding on the line. The Bulls have the superior percentage over the Animals, but Wattle Park currently sits on 13 wins to North Brunswick’s 12. A win for either could prove the difference between having a second chance or having to play in the elimination semi-final in two weeks.

Despite their finals chances coming to an end last week, Albert Park will be keen on throwing a spanner in the works for Richmond Central. A win for the Snakes would see them jump up into third, which could be as high as second if Power House were to do the unthinkable and lose. In the Falcons’ case, a win would see them maintain 5th place.  

And to finish the round, Box Hill North takes on La Trobe at their home ground. Both teams have managed to double their win count from last season and will be keen on adding another to their tally before the season finishes.