In this week’s Eastland In and Under column, Media Manager Ryan Long gives you his key takeaways from Round 17-18 of the senior Men’s Home and Away season and the first week of the 2023 Finals Series for the senior Women.
Lions make Oakleigh earn their finals spot
With the top four/five decided in Divisions One, Two and Four, prior to the Round 18 of the Home and Away season, all eyes turned to Division Three to see if Fairpark could pull off the unthinkable.
Fairpark travelled to Silvan, needing an upset on the road, followed by a Warrandyte upset over Oakleigh District under lights. The Lions ticked the first box, playing arguably their best game of the season.
They were on top right from the first bounce, kicking the opening seven goals of the game. Youngster Jay Rankin starred early, with four first-half goals, creating quite the headache for the Cats defenders.
Silvan had a hot patch in the early stages of the second quarter, bringing the margin back to 20 points, but it was short-lived with a quick response from the Lions to stem the tide. With much more on the line, Fairpark proceeded to kick nine of the last ten goals of the game, finishing 70-point winners.
Their experienced players had great influence on the contest, Mitch Nied starred with three goals of his own, and his brother Bradley also finished in the side’s best.
Defeating the Cats meant Oakleigh District would miss finals if they went down to Warrandyte that night. Despite being challenged early, Oakleigh had the game on their turns with both Pearson brothers returning to the side and having an immediate impact. Ryan Pearson finished with 31 disposals, 7 clearances and 9 inside 50’s.
Up forward, Zak Bozanich clinched the top spot on Division Three’s leading goalkickers tally board, 3 more goals to pass Silvan’s Matthew Low.
The win locked up their position in the top four, setting a date with Silvan next Sunday at Jubilee Park. It’s the club’s first-ever finals series in the Eastern Football Netball League, a massive achievement for everyone involved.
Brayden Kilpatrick masterclass
Kilpatrick may have saved the Dogs from double relegation this year.
His performances this year have been incredibly consistent, and he pulled out one of his best of the year this weekend when the club needed it most. The South Croydon star finished with 51 disposals in their win against Doncaster, going at a 78% disposal efficiency rate.
The superstar stamped his authority on the game right from the opening bounce, with 15 disposals in the first quarter. The Dogs defeated the Sharks to leapfrog Park Orchards and move out of the relegation zone in the meantime.
Kilpatrick is currently averaging 33 disposals per game, having had 567 disposals for the season, more than any other player in the division.
2023 Statistics – Brayden Kilpatrick
Average disposals: 33.4
Average ranking points: 146.4
Average Marks: 5.2
Average Clearances: 9.5
Average Score Involvements: 7.7
Kilpatrick’s had to perform well in the absence of many of their other key players who have missed large chunks of the season. That includes Max King, the reigning Chandler Medallist, who returned to the field for the first time since the 6th of May.
South Croydon still may have to beat Norwood to guarantee they don’t finish 11th if Park Orchards defeat Berwick on the weekend.
Five Grand Finalists, five more to be decided
The Deakin University Senior Women’s finals series kicked off this week, with the Eastern Devils, The Basin, East Ringwood, Kilsyth and Mooroolbark booking their tickets to this year’s Grand Finals.
All five sides will be heading into the decider as red-hot favourites. It’s been a total of eight weeks since any of these sides have lost a match. All five sides have had a combined total of three losses for the entire year, heading into Grand Final week with a lot of confidence.
The Eastern Devils in Premier Division have been one of the great stories of the league, aiming for their second consecutive premiership since joining the Eastern Football League. They kept their unbeaten streak alive, kicking nine goals to one after Quarter Time. Chloe Hunt was impressive up forward again, adding another four goals to her overall tally.
The other unbeaten side is East Ringwood, who finished with a percentage of over 1300 at the end of the Home and Away year. Despite conceding the opening goal early in the day to Surrey Park, they proceeded to kick the next nine, running out 58-point winners. Goals were spread out well between their forwards, Giannetti, Grant and Gebel-Lamb all with two each.
The Preliminary Finals this weekend will be held all on Saturday, over both H.E Parker Reserve and Quambee Reserve.
A full Preliminary Final weekend preview is to be released soon.
