In this week’s Eastland In and Under column, Media Manager Ryan Long gives you his key takeaways from the weekend gone.
Johnson the difference
Beaconsfield took another step forward in the direction of their first-ever finals series in the Eastern Football Netball League on the weekend, holding on to beat the Mustangs by nine points.
Coming into the match, the stakes were high for both clubs with Beaconsfield looking to consolidate their position in the top five and Mooroolbark looking to pinch fifth position.
In wet conditions, the Mustangs jumped out of the blocks, kicking three of the first four goals. Austin Smith led the way, finishing as the leading disposal-getter with 29 disposals, 8 clearances and 12 tackles.
The Eagles hit the lead before Half Time, keeping the Mustangs scoreless in the second quarter. Back from VFL duties at Frankston, Matt Johnson gave the side a spark. Johnson kicked four majors, one in each quarter, while also having 7 goal involvements and 11 score involvements.
With the game a tight arm wrestle for the rest of the afternoon, Johnson’s four goals proved to be the major difference between the two sides.
Johnson has played just two games for the Eagles all season but has kicked 11 goals combined and makes the side look much more threatening up forward. Their defensive record speaks for themselves, the number one ranked defensive side in the division. Brandon White has had a phenomenal year down back and has plenty of great help down back, including Joshua Mounter who had 17 disposals on the weekend.
However, they’re only the seventh-ranked attacking side in the comp, above just North Ringwood, Croydon and Lilydale.
Expect the club to make the finals from here, but they’ll certainly need Johnson in the side come September to make a deep run.
North Ringwood’s turnaround
Winning just two of their opening six matches, the Saints have turned around their season to now sit inside the top five for the first time in 2023.
The Saints have won five of their last eight games, with their most recent loss to the Tigers being by just seven points.
One of the early criticisms of the Saints this year was their inability to score. But they’ve been able to slowly turn that around, hitting the 100-point mark for the first time this year, three weeks ago against Mooroolbark. In their last three games, they’ve also managed to kick ten goals or more in each game. Something they achieved just once in their first eleven games of the season.
Tom Stubs has kicked eight goals for the side in their last three games, with spearhead Patrick Rose missing two of those clashes.
Jack Whelan has also been in exceptional form over the last fortnight. In the Saints’ win over the Blues last Saturday, Whelan had 26 disposals, 7 clearances and 7 inside 50’s.
In their remaining four games, they face Montrose, Bayswater, Beaconsfield and Wantirna South. There will be extra emphasis on the two clashes against Bayswater and Wantirna South considering their positions on the ladder. Win both and they’ll be a big chance to make the finals.
Premier Division continues to deliver
We’ve been saying it all season about just how good Premier Division is this season, and once again this weekend, we had some incredible results.
At Seebeck Oval, the Hawks pinched a one-point victory through an Anthony Brolic behind in the dying seconds of the game. Arguably the best game of the season, Rowville had to come from behind, after trailing at every change. In an exciting last term, momentum shifted multiple times.
Brolic’s last-second behind capped off another impressive performance from him, 27 disposals and 8 clearances. Cooper MacDonald played his best game of the season for the Hawks and was very influential in the one-point win.
As for the Lions, Josh Deluca had the ball on a string, 38 touches and 10 clearances. They’ll have chances to bounce back in the following two weeks against South Croydon and Norwood. The top two from here may be tricky for Doncaster East but they’ll certainly still be a big chance.
The other tight finish that will have implications on the top six positions was East Ringwood’s ten-point win over Noble Park. At the end of the afternoon, Noble Park won most of the key stats, but they failed to make the most of their opportunities up forward, kicking 0.6 in both the first and last quarters.
The Roos now put themselves two games clear of the Bulls, setting up the potential double chance come the end of the season.
Lower down in the division, there was still just as much intrigue with the Park Orchard and South Croydon match-up. The Sharks took home the four points, with a nine-point come-from-behind victory, meaning they’re now tied with the Dogs, having three wins each.
They’ll likely need to win at least two more from here on out to avoid double relegation, but they’ve given themselves a shot, and have avoided a disaster of being two games and percentage behind tenth.