Power House claim crucial win in the race for finals – Division 2 Men’s Round 15 Review

Therry Penola 9.13 (67) def by Canterbury 18.17 (125)

Canterbury strengthened their finals credentials with a dominant win over Therry Penola.

The Cobras had the breeze in the first quarter and made good use of it, kicking the opening four goals of the game, giving them a 27-point lead at quarter-time.

“Early on we were poor by foot and their strength in the air was really hurting us,” Therry Penola coach John Tate said.

Canterbury carried that momentum into the second term, adding another four goals while holding the hosts to two with the breeze. The visitors went into half-time with a 36-point lead, with their defence playing a key role.

“The game was set up by Rob Ritson, who did a phenomenal job in the first half on Patrick Carracher, who is the best forward in the league,” Canterbury coach Steve Brown said.

The Cobras continued to extend their lead in the third quarter, kicking the first three goals before adding another five to finish with eight for the term.

Therry Penola showed improvement in the final quarter as they kicked four goals to two, giving the hosts something positive to take from the game.

“In the last quarter we were much better with corridor dominance, but we found the day difficult,” Tate said. “The positive was two young first-gamers in Nicholas McKay and Jack Doodie, both looked comfortable at the level.”

Power House 21.10 (136) def Elsternwick 10.11 (71)

After losing an eight-point game last week in the race for finals, Power House responded with a 65-point drubbing of Elsternwick.

Power House had the breeze in the first term and made good use of it, kicking six goals to Elsternwick’s three, opening a 21-point lead at quarter-time.

“Our midfield got on top early,” Power House coach Nick Cox said. “Our contest and clearance game was back to its best after a really poor month.”

Both sides kicked three goals apiece in the second term, as Elsternwick narrowly trimmed the margin to 18 points at half-time. The Wickers had their opportunities in the second to close the margin; however, they were unable to capitalise as they kicked five behinds in the term.

Power House dominated after half-time, particularly in the third quarter, kicking seven goals straight to Elsternwick’s one, increasing the lead to 52 points at the final change.

“They got on top at the contest, I felt they outhunted and outworked us there and that was the difference in the game,” Elsternwick coach Oliver Gildea said.

Power House finished strongly as they added another five in the final term, much to the delight of their coach.

“We finished the game off really well as we haven’t played four quarters for a long time, which has cost us over the past month,” Cox said.

The win moves Power House above Elsternwick into fourth position, with only four points separating the two sides and three games remaining.

MHSOB 15.18 (108) def South Melbourne Districts 10.11 (71)

A dominant first quarter from MHSOB set up their sixth win in a row as they defeated South Melbourne by 37 points at home.

The hosts got off to a hot start, kicking the first four goals of the game, while holding South Melbourne to only two points in the first quarter as they held a 29-point lead at the first change.

The lead could have been larger had the Unicorns not kicked seven behinds in the opening term.

South responded after quarter-time, kicking the first four of the second term, cutting the margin to five points at the nine-minute mark of the second term.

The Unicorns bounced back by kicking five of the next six as they carried a 33-point lead into half-time.

“I’m not sure either team had much ascendency in the second quarter,” MHSOB coach Sean Lester said. “Defence across the ground was poor from both, leading to opportunities. South Melbourne were able to drop back in our forward 50 better, which meant we had shots from the pockets.”

MHSOB kicked two early goals in the third to extend their lead to 40 points at three-quarter time.

“The message at half-time was to see how efficient we could be before we got the speed wobbles,” Lester said. “I thought we did this really well for ten minutes and had the game won by the middle of the third.”

Both sides kicked three apiece in the final term as the Unicorns ran out 37-point winners to record their sixth consecutive win.

North Brunswick 7.12 (54) def by Whitefriars 16.10 (106)

Whitefriars strengthened their finals credentials as they defeated North Brunswick by 52 points away from home.

The first quarter was cagey, with neither side able to gain the ascendency. North Brunswick failed to make the most of their opportunities, kicking four behinds while the visitors kicked two goals, giving them a nine-point quarter-time lead.

Both sides were able to create more scoreboard pressure in the second term as the Friars added five goals while the Bulls kicked three.

Once again, North Brunswick failed to make the most of their opportunities as they kicked five behinds in the quarter, meaning the visitors went into half-time with a 19-point lead.

North Brunswick failed to put a dent in Whitefriars’ lead in the third quarter, with both teams kicking three goals apiece as the margin remained at 19 points at three-quarter time.

Whitefriars showed why they are one of the premier sides of the competition in the final quarter as they kicked six goals to one to run out 52-point winners.

Nicholas Garratt and Hayden McLean both kicked four goals for the visitors, while Lachlan McLean, Max Warrick and Ben Ostermeyer were also among Whitefriars’ best.

The win leaves Whitefriars eight points clear of fifth as they look to clinch a finals berth.

West Brunswick 17.18 (120) def Aquinas 4.7 (31)

Mitchell Benstead starred with six goals in West Brunswick’s 89-point victory over Aquinas. The hosts made a strong start, grabbing the early momentum; however, Aquinas had their chances but were unable to make the most of them.

“I thought that in the first quarter they did have the ascendancy, but when we had our opportunities, we just didn’t make the most of them,” Aquinas coach Josh Quinlan said. “It was more the mid-way point of the game that did us in.”

Aquinas struggled to score all day, managing just 31 points, with the West Brunswick defence putting in a stingy performance.

“We struggled to get it through and when we did, we were fumbly and then turned it over or we halved the contest, creating a stoppage which stopped our momentum… Defensively, it was a genuine team effort,” West Brunswick coach Rick Pograri said.

“Our forwards, midfielders and defenders all contributed, and restricting a quality side to 31 points was a credit to the group’s buy-in.”  

The Magpies piled on the goals after half-time to secure their seventh win of the season in style.

“West Brunswick set up very well behind the ball,” Quinlan said. “We continued to just bomb it down the line rather than kick or handball our way through it. West Brunswick stuck to their strategy and structures and that’s what won them the game.”

“It was probably our most complete performance of the season,” Pograri said. “Our execution was strong, but the biggest thing was the contribution from all 22 players. Everyone played their role and put the team first.”  

Mitchell Benstead, Tom Cottrell, Nathan Dowe and Herbert Fithall were among the best for the hosts.