Elsternwick & MHSOB win big as North Brunswick upsets Canterbury

Elsternwick 21.24 (150) def Aquinas 1.10 (16)

Elsternwick recorded their largest win of the season in a 134-point drubbing over Aquinas. The Wicks’ dominance started early as they led by 55 points at quarter-time.

“If we are sticking tackles and running hard defensively, our starts to games seem to look after themselves, so that’s our focus early in games,” said Elsternwick coach Oliver Gildea.

Aquinas coach Josh Quinlan talks on his side’s skills, which proved costly on the day.

“We set up our day with that first quarter, which was pleasing… but they got on top on the back of turnovers, we were very poor by foot and they weren’t, which gave them plenty of opportunities.”

Elsternwick didn’t slow down as they continued to pile on the goals, limiting Aquinas’ ability to gain any momentum whatsoever.

“When you give any side opportunities, they will punish you,” Quinlan said. “We coughed up the ball way too much through the middle of the ground, and they made us pay.”

As well as posting a high score, Elsternwick’s defence was superb, holding Aquinas to just 16 points.

“We just couldn’t get the ball down there after turnovers,” Quinlan said. “We had 24 inside 50s for 11 scoring shots, so when we got it down there, we had opportunities but didn’t make the most of them like they did.”

Ruckman Dylan Jones was Elsternwick’s best, booting six goals while also controlling the game in the ruck.

MHSOB 16.10 (106) def Whitefriars 5.10 (40)

Behind a six-goal performance from star forward Luca Di Lallo, MHSOB claimed their seventh win of the season with a dominant performance over Whitefriars.  

The Unicorns’ first quarter set the tone for the day, as they kicked five goals to none in the first term. “They absolutely shell-shocked us with their start, full credit to them,” Whitefriars coach Andrew Daou said.

“Our mids were great in the first quarter in giving us first use, it meant our forwards had good looks and our backs were able to get organised.”  MHSOB Coach Sean Lester said.

Whitefriars created plenty of opportunities for themselves in the second quarter; however, their inaccuracy saw them finish the term with one goal and five behinds.

“MHSOB defensive pressure was awesome, but we did ourselves no favours missing four or five from directly in front,” Daou said.

The Friars built momentum during the second and third quarters, however, they could not close the margin.

“They dominated the first and fourth quarters, no doubt about that, but we probably had the momentum in the second and third but couldn’t put the pressure on the scoreboard,” Daou said.

“Credit to them again, they strangled us and then scored easily on the way back, which is an indictment to our defensive pressure.”  

When the two sides met earlier in the season, the game was in the balance at three-quarter time, and MHSOB fell away in the last.

The Unicorns didn’t allow this to happen again, putting the hammer down in the last, kicking five goals to one. “I was rapt with how we sustained their momentum and how we got it back on our terms,” Lester said. “Our fitness has been great to run out games.”

Therry Penola 13.8 (86) def Power House 11.17 (83)

Patrick Carracher’s bag of eight was one of the deciding factors in Therry Penola’s thrilling three-point victory over Power House.

It was a tight first quarter with both sides kicking two goals apiece. The second quarter saw Therry Penola build a strong lead as they made the most of their opportunities, while Power House struggled to convert, kicking six behinds in the quarter, giving the Lions a 28-point half-time lead.

“We changed our focus in the second quarter with Jack Ivers going into the middle more and giving the halfbacks the licence to push forward,” Therry Penola coach John Tate said.

“Patty Carracher was making the most of his opportunities, and we held them to only one goal in the second.”

Power House got back into the game in the third quarter, kicking four goals to one to cut the margin to nine points at three-quarter time.

“At the break, we knew they would restructure and, to their credit, they responded with good ball use and played cleaner, disciplined football,” Tate said.

The Lions opened the final term strongly, with Carracher kicking his sixth early in the quarter. Power House responded, but the sides traded goals for the remainder of the term.

Power House may feel like they left one out there after kicking six behinds in the final term. “The message at three-quarter time was to take our chances when going forward, which we didn’t, and credit to Therry Penola, each time they went forward, they kicked goals,” Power House coach Nick Cox said.

“We never gave in and kept up the forward pressure, causing many opportunities to score… we got the ball over the back once or twice to score and did enough to stifle the game in the last five minutes.”

Power House’s pressure ultimately wasn’t enough, with 17 behinds costly in a heartbreaking three-point defeat.

North Brunswick 14.12 (96) def Canterbury 9.7 (61)

North Brunswick completed one of the biggest scalps of the season as they knocked off premiership contenders Canterbury by 35 points.

The Bulls started strongly, kicking five goals in the first quarter while holding Canterbury to two. North Brunswick’s momentum continued to grow in the second quarter as they kicked another five goals in the term, giving them a 38-point lead at the main break.

“We at times made some poor decisions with ball in hand, and they capitalised on our mistakes,” Canterbury coach Steve Brown said.  

Canterbury responded in the third term, kicking four goals to two to cut the lead to 27 at the final change.

North Brunswick kicked two goals to one to seal the victory by 35 points. The margin could have been even larger had North Brunswick converted their chances in the final term, kicking five behinds.

After a string of close losses against some of the better sides in the competition, it was a richly deserved win for the Bulls, who will look to build on the result, as they aim to climb out of the bottom two.

Having started the season seven and one, Canterbury have now lost three on the trot. The Cobras will look to break the losing streak against a firing Elsternwick side. “It’s a long season, and there are plenty of opportunities left, but we need to start competing better as a club as soon as possible,” Brown said.

West Brunswick 13.11 (89) def South Melbourne 8.8 (56)

A five-goal-to-none first quarter set the tone in West Brunswick’s 33-point win over South Melbourne.

Three of West Brunswick’s five first-quarter goals were late in the first term, giving the Magpies all the momentum going into quarter-time.

South Melbourne responded admirably in the second, holding West Brunswick goalless, but were unable to capitalise on their good defensive work, managing just two goals and four behinds for the quarter.

South were very much in the game at half-time, but a four-goal blitz gave the Magpies a 45-point lead at the final change, putting any South Melbourne comeback in serious doubt.

The fourth quarter was South Melbourne’s highest-scoring period, kicking five goals. However, three West Brunswick goals sealed the four points.

Bill Irving kicked five for the Magpies, with Nathan Dowe, Conor Fowler and Jacob Hyslop also among the best for the victors. South Melbourne saw admirable performances from Tom Foley, Jonno Tims and John Doyle. The