All five divisions of senior men football returned on Saturday Afternoon. In this week’s Eastland In and Under column, Media Manager Ryan Long gives you his key takeaways from the weekend that was.
Sketcher takes on the responsibility.
A purely dominant display from Noble Park’s Jackson Sketcher saw the club come from behind to pinch a win over Rowville in the Grand Final Rematch on Saturday Afternoon.
The Bulls trailed at three-quarter time by 29 points before an inspired performance from Sketcher, kicking three last-quarter goals saw the skipper lift his side to victory. Sketcher was everywhere, winning plenty of contested ball, dominating in the clearances and being dangerous around goal. All three of his last quarter majors came within the first six minutes of the term. He was assisted well by teammate Chris Horton Milne in the midfield, another stand-out for the side.
With the loss of Kyle Martin and Shane McDonald to season-ending injuries, there has been added pressure on the likes of Sketcher and Horton Milne to lead from the front. They proved on the weekend that the Bulls can’t be ruled out of going back-to-back in 2023 in what a thrilling eight-goal final quarter for the side was.
Jackson Casey, who played his first game in Bulls colours, also delivered in spades, listed in the side’s best players for the afternoon while youngster Harley Fairbank’s forward pressure was a standout, kicking three goals.
Up until the final quarter, Rowville had Noble Park’s match, keeping them goalless in two quarters. The Bulls played into the Hawks hands with their forward fifty entries, with Stainthorpe and Wood both having plenty of impact. At the other end of the ground, Mav Taylor kicked five goals, the young star looking electric up forward.
Although it’d be disappointing last quarter to watch play out for Ben Wise, he’ll still take a lot out of their first three-quarters on Saturday which for a majority of the game, they looked the better of the two sides.
Fair to say that these two sides will be two of the front runners of the Premier Division competition once again.
Nunawading and Upper Ferntree Gully end their losing streaks.
A fantastic couple of results over the weekend saw both Nunawading and Upper Ferntree Gully end their losing streaks in two hotly-contested games.
Both sides went winless in season 2022, with Upper Ferntree Gully dropping down from Division One to Two, losing multiple key stars while the Lions struggled to get anywhere near their opposition after the first few rounds of the season last year.
The last time these two teams won, both happened to occur on the 10th of July.
On Saturday, Nunawading held off a gallant Croydon North MLOC, leading at every change in the close encounter. It was almost a completely new side out on the field compared to last year. Maghamez starred with four majors while Wensley was listed as the Lions best player. The win was an emotional one for everyone involved in the club from its loyal players who have stuck strong through the tough times, to the club’s supporters and volunteers who have put a lot of time into the club.
Upper Ferntree Gully’s win had a similar type of emotion behind it coming off 19 straight losses including a 99-point loss at home against Heathmont in Round One. They had the perfect response on Saturday, kicking five goals to one in the opening term against Knox. The Falcons slowly began to work their way back into the game, cutting down that margin but Upper Gully held on by four points in a memorable victory for the club.
After only kicking three for the afternoon the week prior, it was great to see the side create plenty of scoring, 11 goals from 23 scoring shots. Strange kicked three with Todd, Thomson and Bailey all kicking two each.
It’s technically an eight-point win for the club as they jump out of the bottom two of the Division Two ladder.
It’s a great thing for the competition to have all three winless sides of 2022, on the board early in season 2023.
Division One powerhouses go head-to-head.
Four of the early front runners for the Division One premiership all went head-to-head this week with Wantirna South taking on Mitcham and Montrose playing host to South Belgrave.
The Devils looked to get on top of their clash against the Tigers in the second quarter but inaccuracy hurt them in the third, kicking 0.9 to Mitcham’s 3.2. Not able to put away Neil Winterton’s men, the Tigers came flying home undermanned with a seven-goal final term to pinch a stirring 17-point victory.
The side was without Nick Hallo due to an unfortunate injury suffered in their Round One win over Beaconsfield while Jake Parente was missing due to VFL duties. They certainly didn’t lack any firepower with four multiple-goal scorers including Bailey Cowman, who kicked two against his former club. Jackson Hallo was massive in absence of his brother, kicking three goals of his own.
Last year’s Division One league best and fairest winner, Lincoln Wong was back to his absolute best, with four goals from the midfield and the side’s best player on the field.
Further east, Montrose also struggled to convert in their third quarter against South Belgrave, letting the game slip from their hands with a 1.6 quarter to the Saints’ 6.2 quarter. Last week it was Tim Smith who starred with seven goals, this weekend it was Taylor Garner who finished with six. It’s creating quite the headache for opposition teams while also having a very solid back six led by Brodie Connelly once again in the side’s best.
The Demons certainly weren’t disgraced and like the Devils, they’ll rue missed opportunities in their twenty-point loss to the Saints. Greg Lord’s performance was a big positive for the senior side, the youngster named best on for the Demons in just his second game with the club.
Next week, they’ll again take on one another again with Mitcham hosting Montrose and South Belgrave hosting Wantirna South. Once more, we’ll get a better idea of how they match up against one another.
Don’t count out the Mustangs
Last year’s Grand Finalists were expected to be the big sliders in Division One by many.
But their performance away from home at Croydon gave us a reminder of the type of talent they still have out on the park. Their midfield is still elite at Division One level. Monkhorst, Smith, Noonan and Maki were all listed in the best on the weekend and were part of the reason why the club were so hard to beat last year.
The Mustangs blew the Blues out of the water in the opening quarter, eight goals to one. Defensively they held up strong, keeping Croydon to just five goals, which furthermore increases the doubts of their ability to kick a winning score. However, that may be more of a factor in Mooroolbark’s dominance through the midfield.
Down at the other end of the ground, the Mustangs had eight goal kickers with Dobie and Thatcher combining for six majors. There was a lot of talk about how their forward line would function without Jai Jordan and Aaron Mullet kicking goals but clearly, they do have a lot of players ready to fill that void.
The one noticeable issue they do have would be their depth, struggling for numbers in their reserves team after another big loss. It speaks to the vital importance of keeping their full-strength side out on the park.
Count them out at your will but if Mooroolbark can stay healthy, they’ll be one to look out for.
Are the Waverley Blues the real deal?
Three games in, the Waverley Blues are undefeated in their first season back in Division Two.
They follow a similar path to East Burwood last season, who won the first five games of their 2022 season campaign. They knocked off the inaccurate Rams away from home by 11 points. After the Rams piled on six goals in the third quarter to hit the lead, the Waverley Blues responded late to hold on for the third win of the year, and the twentieth consecutive over the last two seasons.
Former Frankston VFL listed player, Chris Diggle made his debut for the club, a very big inclusion a week after Chris Duck debuted for the Blues last week. Youngster Josh Walker continued his hot start to the season with a best-on-ground performance. Walker finished with three as did Omar Mohammad and Matt Perry who now has nine for the season.
East Burwood didn’t help themselves, a 0.6 first quarter made things difficult for them. They’ll be hoping for the return of Ed Rixton and Max Wills in the upcoming weeks.
But for Waverley, it’s the perfect start to the year with their biggest test right around the corner when they head to Tormore Reserve to play the only other undefeated team in Division Two, Boronia.
