Kew hand Preston their first loss of the season – Division 1 Men’s Round 15 Review

Oakleigh 13.6 (84) def Prahran 4.15 (39)

While still out of the top four, Oakleigh put their best foot forward for finals with a 45-point victory over third-placed Prahran on the weekend.

Starting strong, Oakleigh quickly built up a two-goal lead at the first break, and a 28-point lead at half-time. This gap was exacerbated by Prahran’s inaccuracy, with the visitors kicking 1.11 before the main break.

While Prahran got a few more goals on the board before the final siren, their accuracy didn’t improve substantially. This meant that while both sides had 19 scoring shots, Oakleigh, with an efficient 13.6 scoreline, managed to go home with a substantial win.

Oakleigh coach Chris Worner was particularly impressed by his side over the last few weeks; he said it “was definitely one of your better performances for the season… It’s comforting that we are putting better performances together at the right end of the season.”

While he acknowledged Prahran’s inaccuracy and how it impacted the game, he used it as an opportunity to praise his side’s defenders and their ability to force difficult shots.

Alongside this, he praised the dominance of both Will and Jack Iverson, and “16-year-old, second gamer Harland Craig flew under the radar, he influenced the game around the ground and on the scoreboard.”

Worner is still hoping to get a few players back before the end of the season and push their way into finals.

On the other side, Prahran assistant coach Patrick Marks was disappointed in the outcome and the performance. He summed the game up when he said, “At the end of the day, if you can’t convert in front of goal you are going to struggle to win more games than you lose.”

Marks took a determined position from this and acknowledged the team was “moving on and taking it on board for three must-win games now for the rest of the home and away season.”

Prahran’s run doesn’t get any easier as they host fourth-placed Parkside next week at home in another game that will define the top four line-up.

Oakleigh have a less dramatic match-up against UHS-VU away from home; however, they can’t drop any games if they want to keep the finals dream alive. 

Brunswick 14.14 (98) def UHS-VU 10.13 (73)

Despite a resilient last term, Brunswick stayed one step ahead of UHS-VU throughout their round 15 match-up.

Brunswick extended their lead at each break, reaching a high of 44 points at three-quarter time. However, the Vultures responded in the final term, going five goals to two, but this wasn’t enough to break down Brunswick’s well-fought lead.

The home side had eight individual goalkickers for the day but were led by Darcy Heenan and Dominic Oswald with three goals each. Matched by UHS-VU’s top scorer, Ashton Skerget, with three of his own.

Next week, Brunswick will be hosting a Kew side going full steam ahead after beating the undefeated Bullants this week. While UHS-VU will be up against an Oakleigh side still fighting hard for the last finals spot.

Kew 22.15 (147) def Preston Bullants 5.10 (40)

In the biggest surprise of the week, the Preston Bullants not only had their first loss of the season but got handed a 107-point defeat by a red-hot Kew side.

Kew have been on fire with nine wins in a row since their last meeting with Preston. In quite the turn of events from round six, Kew took off in the second term, scoring eight goals to one in the quarter.

While scoring slowed in the third as the Bullants regained some control, the Bears regained momentum in the final term, going on to kick nine goals and break out to a massive margin against the ladder leaders.

This may be a much-needed loss for Preston, who haven’t had many challenges throughout the season. Re-energising them in the approach to finals, particularly as Kew continue to develop and impress.

While unlikely, this result also leaves the door open for Kew to sneak into top spot, although the Bullants will be hoping to regain their composure before that point.

Monash Blues 15.11 (101) def Old Yarra Cobras 5.12 (42)

The Monash Blues moved one step closer to avoiding relegation with a 59-point victory over Old Yarra.

While the Cobras kept in touch in the first half, being down by 16 points at half-time, the Blues managed to break away in the third term.

The Blues defence held Old Yarra to one goal in the second half, while they piled on eight more goals of their own. Eventually resulting in another significant loss for the Cobras.

Will Snookes continues to add up bags of goals, with another six this week, and is neck and neck with Oakleigh’s Rogan Kitts for most goals this season. With an extremely difficult run home for Monash to end the season, Snookes will have his work cut out for him if he’s to top the table for most goals.

As mentioned, Monash have an intensely difficult run in the final three rounds, playing three of the top four sides to end the season. They will be hoping to gain some momentum from their recent wins and keep the fight going, starting with a home game against Preston.

The Cobras’ run isn’t much easier, with two of their three final games against the top two as well, although they start with a home game against St Mary’s Salesian this week. Nonetheless, Old Yarra will continue developing and will be hopeful of getting on the board before the end of the year.

Parkside 10.5 (65) def St Mary’s Salesian 7.12 (54)

Parkside holds on to their finals spot once again with a solid win over St Mary’s Salesian.

With Oakleigh right on their heels, the Devils needed to keep winning and they have done extremely well, starting with an 11-point victory over the Saints.

In a low-scoring first term, St Mary’s were able to take the lead into the first break. However, Parkside’s defence took control from there on, and with a five-goal third term, they were able to maintain a gap between them and their opposition until the final siren.

It was a low-scoring affair all up, but Parkside still managed the three multiple goal scorers, with Lewis Daniels, Thomas Doupe, and Jack Hamilton all kicking two each. While Edward Bourke for St Mary’s kicked a game-high three goals himself.

The Devils have a manageable run home to finish off the season but will have to get a winning streak going to within touching distance to an Oakleigh side full of confidence.

Parkside’s next matchup is against Prahran; a win would help create a buffer but also potentially let them break into the third spot. Oakleigh will be up against the Old Yarra Cobras next week, who are once again still looking for their first win of the season.