Whitefriars claim minor premiership – Division 2 Men’s Round 18 Review

MHSOB 16.11 (107) def by Canterbury 22.11 (143)

MHSOB’s eight-game winning streak comes to an end as Canterbury secured finals footy. The game started as a shootout, with both sides having a run of three goals in the opening term. Canterbury went into quarter-time with an eight-point lead.

“In the first I thought we were in the contest. We probably didn’t use it too well going forward and Canterbury were pouncing on our mistakes,” MHSOB coach Sean Lester said.

Canterbury dominated the early stages of the second quarter, with the visitors kicking four of the first five goals. The Unicorns would respond in the second half of the term, kicking four of the last five to cut the margin to five points at half-time.

“As the quarter went on, I think we got some midfield momentum back and started using the ball better in our back half,” Lester said.  

The Cobras dominated the third quarter, kicking nine goals to three to extend their lead to 42 points at the final change.

“After half-time, Canterbury wanted the footy and contest more, we didn’t adjust quickly enough, and they capitalised on repeat entries,” Lester said.

“In the third quarter, we started to defend the ground a bit better,” Canterbury coach Steve Brown said.

“This caused some turnovers in our half. Our forwards, Josh Ward and James Boarotto, got on top which helped us get nine goals for the quarter.”

The Unicorns were unable to put a real dent in the Cobras’ lead as the visitors ran out 36-point winners. The result means the two teams will face each other in the first week of finals.

Both sides have claimed a win against each other this season, setting up a cracking semi-final.  

Therry Penola 8.9 (57) def by Whitefriars 12.12 (84)

Whitefriars secured the minor premiership and a double chance as they defeated Therry Penola by 27 points.

The Friars came out hot, kicking four goals to one in the first quarter as they held a 21-point quarter-time lead.

“Our ball movement from contest was first class. We defended the ground well with two-way running,” Whitefriars coach Andrew Daou said.

The hosts responded early in the second term with two goals from star forward Patrick Carracher; however, Whitefriars responded with four consecutive goals to extend their lead to 30 points at half-time.

“We had a lot of the ball, but we turned it over in the middle of the ground, which cost us badly,” Therry Penola coach John Tate said.

“Therry is a good team when they are allowed to play their way… We clamped down in the second half of the quarter and were able to play our way,” Daou said.

The hosts came out firing in the third, kicking four of the five goals for the term, cutting the margin to 12 points at the final change.

“They surged really strongly from the contest whilst we just weren’t clean with our opportunities… It was a finals-like environment, and I was really proud of the way we responded,” Daou said.

“We knew we were in the game if our skill execution improved and, to our credit, we got our act together, with Zac and Oscar Moran creating run from the backline to start a comeback,” Tate said.

The hosts kicked the first of the last quarter cutting the margin to six; however, Whitefriars would kick the next three goals to secure the four points as Nicholas Garratt played a pivotal role late for the visitors.

Whitefriars will face Power House in the Semi-Final with the winner booking a ticket to the Grand Final.

“The double chance was always our focus, finishing with the minor premiership was an added bonus,” Daou said. “As I told the boys on Saturday, the real season starts now.”

North Brunswick 8.9 (57) def by Power House 15.10 (100)
Power House secured a double chance in finals by defeating North Brunswick by 43 points.

North Brunswick kicked the first of the game, getting the Bulls off to a strong start. However, Power House responded, kicking the next four to take a 20-point lead into quarter-time.

Power House continued to have the game on their terms in the second quarter, but North Brunswick were able to generate more scoreboard pressure as they kicked three goals while the visitors kicked four.

The House led by 28 points at half-time and then flexed their muscles in the third, kicking four goals to none, giving them a 52-point three-quarter-time lead as they put the game to bed.

North Brunswick narrowly cut the margin to 43 points in the last, kicking four goals to three.

“It was a tough day for both teams as the ground was very heavy and it made scoring pretty difficult, North Brunswick always make it a contest, and this game was no different,” Power House coach Nick Cox said.   

The result means North Brunswick finish in the bottom two, while Power House finish in the top two and face minor premiers Whitefriars in a semi-final.

“Results show that this division is pretty tight and securing a top-two spot has to be an advantage,” Cox said.  Both sides have claimed a win against each other this year, setting up another tight contest.

West Brunswick 15.8 (98) def Elsternwick 5.12 (42)

West Brunswick destroyed Elsternwick’s finals hopes as the Magpies recorded an impressive 56-point win.

The Magpies kicked the only two goals of the opening term as the Wicks failed to convert, kicking four behinds.

“We didn’t take advantage of the breeze early and missed chances, bad goalkicking has been a theme of our season,” Elsternwick coach Oliver Gildea said.

West Brunswick continued to score in the second quarter, kicking four goals while once again holding the visitors goalless. The hosts had a 34-point lead at half-time. “I thought defensively we were outstanding in the first half… I thought our pressure and team defence allowed us to control the game early and build that lead,” West Brunswick coach Rick Pograri said.

Elsternwick felt their season slipping away and they responded in the third. The visitors kicked four goals to two, cutting the lead to 18 points at the final change. “They put us under more pressure and were able to get some scoreboard momentum,” Pograri said.

The Magpies dominated the last quarter, kicking seven goals to one as the margin blew out to 56 points, putting a nail in Elsternwick’s finals aspirations.

“We finished exceptionally well,” Pograri said. “Our ball movement and forward entries were excellent, and importantly we converted our territory pressure.”

Elsternwick finished fifth on the ladder, missing out on finals by two games.

“As far as reflections, we need to get better and bring it more consistently,” Gildea said. “We know our best is good enough, but we lacked consistency all year. We will lick our wounds, refresh and start making plans to attack 2027 quickly.”

It was an up-and-down year for West Brunswick with plenty to build on. “There are some really important lessons for this playing group,” Pograri said. “We genuinely believe we can beat anyone, and I think we’ve shown that throughout the year. The next step for us is learning to execute at that level consistently, week in and week out.”

South Melbourne 22.16 (148) def Aquinas 9.5 (59)

South Melbourne ended their season in style as they defeated Aquinas by 89 points. South came out of the blocks hot, kicking eight goals to none in the opening term.

“Our direct play was sensational, our skills were really good to our forwards… We hit targets in the corridor and then took the match on, they were sensational,” South Melbourne coach Shaun Gould said.

South Melbourne continued their dominance in the second term, kicking seven goals to two, giving them an 83-point half-time lead.

“We got the ball first and were very direct and pretty accurate with our goal kicking,” Gould said. “Our midfield worked tirelessly, Nic Broomfield was sensational and every single player in that first half had a sensational game.”

While the game was out of reach for Aquinas, they were able to generate more scoreboard pressure in the third quarter, kicking six goals to five. South Melbourne ran out 89-point winners after adding another two goals in the fourth quarter.

Gould had high praise for South speedster John Doyle. “He had some really fantastic direct play. He took a couple of bounces, Peter Matera-esque, dashing through the middle and taking the game on and hitting targets.”

The defeat means Aquinas finish last on the ladder while South Melbourne finish eighth. While not winning as many games as they would like, Gould saw plenty of positives in 2026.

“I am thrilled with the development of the boys throughout the year,” he said. “They have gone through and developed a game style that they can really build on and attack for a flag next year. Enough exposure to so many players across the season has given us a really good platform to work with.”