Round Eleven: The “Something for Everyone” Round

Posted on - Latest News, Featured, Premier C Men's

Hugh MacLean

High scores, close contests, upsets; no matter what your poison, there was something for you in round eleven. Here’s what took place

This was an odd game in which there were many shifts in momentum and opportunities missed, but in the end the high-flying Hampton Rovers saw off the challenge of an in-form Parkdale Vultures line-up to arrest a two-game losing streak. Rovers had six changes in this match, which affected their cohesion, and this combined with Parkdale’s ability to hunt well in the middle of the park turned this into a scrap which began with only one goal in the first term.  

Hampton took the initiative by kicking four goals to two in the second quarter, but this one was tight all day and Parkdale had levelled up by the opening minutes of the final term. The Vultures had their chances, but the tale of the match was told as their forwards could only manage 1.4 in the final term to finish five points short.  

Ben Marron kicked three goals and the evergreen Danny Corp two for Hampton, with Scott Ebbott their best. Liam Purcell was the main goalkicker for Parkdale with two, with he and Lloyd Bailey best for the Vultures. 

Old Mentonians gave notice that they intended to be right in the finals hunt with a stirring 25-point victory over a well credentialled Mazenod side. The Nodders took the early lead, but the match was won with a seven goal to two burst by the Panthers from late in the first quarter to early in the second, as Old Mentonians turned a quarter-time deficit into a five-goal lead.  

Mazenod came back hard at their opponents from that point on, but could only go goal-for-goal with the Panthers rather than eat into the lead that they had built.  While it is far from panic stations for the Nodders, this result combined with Ormond’s big win punts them out of the top five and places Old Mentonians level with them on points, emphasising the vital nature of the victory.  

Four goals continued Tom Morecroft’s recent purple patch, with Angus Grant also kicking four and Kyle Conlon also contributing strongly. Jack Caspersz kicked three for Mazenod, for whom Liam Welsford was their best.

UHS-VU went goal-for-goal early with Old Geelong, kicking two of the first four goals to be level half-way through the first quarter. Sadly that was as good as it got as Old Geelong took a stranglehold on this match. They steadied to lead by 20 at the first change, and from there UHS-VU did not see their heels for dust.  

Although they kicked four goals of their own in the second term, Old Geelong kicked nine to lead by 51 at the main break, and thereafter it was all about the boys in the hoops, with Geelong kicking 15 goals to one solitary major in the second half, in a show of power designed to scare the rest of the premiership contenders.  

Best-afield Joe Griffiths and Liam Higgins kicked seven each for Old Geelong, with Nick Freeman also strong. Gerard Hawkins kicked two for UHS-VU, with James Healey their best on the day.

Ormond continued their recent return to form with this 156-point obliteration of Preston Bullants. Ormond started with a rush, seven early goals giving them a 30-point lead at quarter-time, and though the Bullants got one early in the second stanza there was not much for them to be happy about for the rest of the day as Ormond set about building their percentage should it be needed later on.  

The brown-and-blues led by 69 at the half, and then kicked nine goals in the third term and seven more in the last to only three replies from their opponents. Tom Buckley starred with seven goals for Ormond, with Jack McCartney contributing six and Jack Mason being their best. Pat Taylor kicked two for the Bullants and Ethan Lowe battled hard all day.

Old Ivanhoe’s train, that had been rattling along just nicely, was derailed by a plucky Marcellin side that cared not for reputation nor ladder position in a stirring victory. Marcellin took the four points on the back of four goals from Lachlan Rush; whilst Luke Scuderi, who had potted 27 goals in his previous five outings, was kept to just one by a desperate Marcellin defence.  

Old Ivanhoe had six more scores than their opponents in the first quarter, but only led by six points, which told its own story as they had nine extra shots for the match yet trailed from the middle of the second term to the end.  

Marcellin, by contrast, were clinical in front of goal, converting ten of their 14 attempts. Ry Elphinstone and Daniel di Paola were excellent for Marcellin, while Jordan Stanton and Harrison Frazer were standouts for Old Ivanhoe.

Monash Blues bye