Better than Sampi: “Biggest and best mark” from Division 2 Men’s

Power Hour 18.16.124 def Aquinas 9.6.60

ANZAC Day football in Division 2 saw Power House and Elsternwick win big, while West Brunswick narrowly edged South Melbourne.

Power House continued their strong start to life in Division 2, defeating Aquinas by 64 points away from home. Aquinas coach Josh Quinlan felt his side were in the game for most of the day but ultimately couldn’t sustain the effort for four quarters.

“Unfortunately, again we strung good passages of play together but couldn’t play four quarters,” he said.

Quinlan said his side struggled with Power House’s size and experience late, despite having the momentum heading into the fourth.

“I think just their bigger bodies and the mature team wore us down in the end. We gave it a good nudge late in the third and it felt like we had all the momentum coming in at three-quarter time.”

However, two quick goals from Power House shifted momentum early in the final term. “Two quick goals within the first couple of minutes in the last took the wind out of our sails and their experience took over.”

Despite winning their first two games in Division 2, Power House coach Nick Cox said his side is still adapting to the level. “They have adapted okay to the higher grade so far, but have many challenges ahead.”

Cox credited his defensive group’s role in keeping his side in the game early. “Our back seven stood out and kept us in the game early,” he said. Cox added that his side’s contest work was pivotal once again. “Very similar to last week, lots of mistakes and turnovers but good in the contest and things opened up late.”

West Brunswick 7.15.57 def South Melbourne 7.12.54

West Brunswick held on to record their first win of the season in a tight contest against South Melbourne. Neither side was able to break away, with momentum swinging throughout the game before West Brunswick kicked a late goal to secure the win.

West Brunswick coach Rick Pograri said it was a tight contest throughout the day. “I thought it was a really even contest all day” he said. “Both sides had their moments and there were genuine momentum swings across the four quarters.”

Pograri said his side’s composure in the final moments proved decisive. “In the end, it came down to composure and belief. The group stayed connected and were able to execute at the end.”

South Melbourne coach Shaun Gould said his side showed strong resilience after losing two players early in the contest. “We lost two players very early and I thought that was going to hurt and that was the case with two minutes to go,” Gould said. “Credit to the team for fighting their guts out to the final siren.”

While not getting the four points, Gould saw many positives from his side. “The four-quarter effort was elite; the forward pressure was great in patches. I thought the backline absorbed some great pressure and worked the ball out of defence very well.”

Gould praised Mark Plunkett on the wing, as well as Haydn Wyatt for his forward pressure. Nic Broomfield was also influential when moved into the ruck, while Jack Cotton provided strong rebound from the defensive 50.

Blaise Bajram produced the highlight of the day, taking a spectacular pack mark with shades of Ashley Sampi at the MCG in 2004, with Gould believing Bajram’s mark was better than Sampi’s.

“Biggest and best mark I’ve ever seen,” Gould said.

See the mark here –

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Canterbury 16.18.114 def North Brunswick 9.14.68

James Boarotto kicked five as Canterbury finished strong despite a third quarter surge from North Brunswick. A six-goal third quarter from North Brunswick got them within five goals at three-quarter time. However, Canterbury continued their strong fourth quarter form, kicking five goals to two in the last as the home side took their opportunities.

“In the last quarter we were able to make the most of our opportunities and continue our strong last quarter results over the preseason and season so far,” Canterbury coach Steve Brown said.

“We were strong at the contest all day and well led by (Sebastian) Gotch and (Michael) Topp around the stoppages. We unfortunately were a little wasteful in front of goal at times apart from James Boarotto who used his opportunities well,” he said.

In the second term, Canterbury kicked four goals to none, making North Brunswick pay from turnovers according to North Brunswick coach Domenic Fontana. “I thought the second quarter was where Canterbury really made us pay from turnover,” he said. “We actually had a reasonable amount of the footy in that period, but our ball use and decision-making weren’t at the level they needed to be.”

Fontana said better ball use and an increase in pressure allowed them to get back into the game in the third. “We adjusted that part of our game. We were cleaner by foot, made better decisions and as a result we took away a big part of Canterbury’s scoring source. I also thought our pressure around the ball improved, which helped us compete much more strongly in that period.”

Elsternwick 23.7.145 def Therry Penola 1.5.65

Another strong Elsternwick first quarter performance propelled them to victory against Therry Penola. After Therry Penola kicked the first of the game, Elsternwick kicked the next six to set up a big lead at quarter time. Elsternwick’s accuracy in front of goal was key, kicking 15.1 at halftime. Over the first two games, Elsternwick have kicked 19 and 23 goals in their games, which coach Oliver Gildea believes is due to having multiple avenues to goal.

“One of our big strengths is having multiple avenues to goal, which makes us harder to defend, so the players are taking the game on and that’s generating big scores so far,” he said. “Our players have been encouraged to embrace mistakes rather than playing it safe.”

Gildea had high praise for Lenny Pinnegar in his 50th game. “(He was) rock solid defensively and gave us great bounce from the defensive 50.”

Therry Penola coach John Tate said his side struggled to deal with Elsternwick’s quick ball movement as well as decision-making and skill execution.

“The first five minutes was a good battle, but they took control of the play with quick ball movement which we struggled to react to,” he said. “Our decision-making was poor and our skill execution was not what is expected.”

Despite the result, Tate was pleased with the brand of footy his side played in the third after restructuring the side. “It wasn’t until the third quarter that we played our brand and slowly worked our way back into the contest,” he said. “Sadly, too little too late.”

Tate was impressed with Nick Turner’s stoppage work, as well as Lucas Ryan and Jack Viola’s willingness to compete and work hard.

Whitefriars 12.16.88 def MHSOB 8.11.59

Whitefriars produced a strong response after quarter time to defeat MHSOB in a hard-fought contest, with a dominant second term proving the difference.

Whitefriars coach Andrew Daou said the wind played a role in their strong second quarter. “The breeze was pretty heavy to that end of the ground, which helped us swing the momentum back into our favour,” he said. “In saying that, we did really well to push them wide in the first to limit their effectiveness with the wind, whilst we made better use of it, but not perfect.”

Daou was proud of his side’s effort in the last to run out winners without any rotations. “Gutsy is the word I’d use this week,” he said. “No rotations in the last and the boys dug massively to run out on top.”

“I am so proud of the boys and the way they handled the last quarter, it was a mature win from a young group.”

MHSOB coach Sean Lester said his defenders played a pivotal role in the second quarter to prevent the game getting ugly, as they missed chances in the first with the breeze.

“We started really well, albeit with the breeze, but didn’t quite convert enough,” he said. “The second quarter swung and if not for our defenders it could’ve got uglier.”

Lester credited Whitefriars on their direct brand of footy. “We did a lot well, but when Whitefriars won the footy they were more direct and able to capitalise.” After being in reach at three-quarter time and then failing to win two weeks in a row, Lester acknowledged his side is still learning how to manage games. “Teams that have played together longer have more understanding of how to manage the ebbs and flows of the game.” “We will get there,” he said.