By: Matt Fotia
We were met with a drab, rainy, dark and extremely cold Saturday as we marched further through this football season. We can take solace that the days are meant to get longer and warmer from here on in. Or so I’m told. Here’s five things from the weekend’s action…
Beware of the dog
All eyes in Division 1 were fixated on the grand final rematch between South Croydon and Vermont over the weekend at the Kennel. The Dogs owned the day with their reserves inflicting Vermont’s reserves their first loss before the rain and the Dogs’ tackling pressure set in. From the first bounce it seemed South Croydon knew exactly what it was doing, putting aside its new attacking flair for a trusted and tried technique to beat the Eagles.
South Croydon shut down the Eagles’ uncontested ball, put a tag on Vermont’s strongest body in the middle in Tom Schneider, and tackled anything in purple. Nick Molnar was incredible, lavishing the wet weather laying 22 tackles for the day. Vermont chose not to adapt its game style to the conditions which was surprising, however it could’ve been because the Eagles were never more than two kicks down. South Croydon’s poor conversion kept the game close with 30 scoring shots to 12. Daniel Cooper was the main culprit kicking one goal from six or seven clear cut opportunities.
Harmit Singh must now address the issue at hand. Vermont’s slick style is enough for 10 other teams in this league, but not a hungry, physical and aggressive South Croydon. He needs a plan to counteract this style and he needs to come up with it before the likes of Doncaster and co catch on to the Bulldogs’ blueprint.
Hawks open things up
Blackburn was one of the form sides of the competition coming off the back of five consecutive wins and playing at home to a faltering Rowville side. The Hawks looked off the pace early before jumping out to a 28-point lead at the final change. Despite not scoring in the last the Hawks were able to hold off the Burners in what could be a season-defining win. They found a new avenue to goal with Matt Little kicking two, whilst Mason Crozier (yes, brother of Hayden) was best afield for the Hawks playing an important role.
The permutations of this win are massive for the finals race now. Despite their impressive month and a half, the Panthers are now out to sixth, with Rowville and Balwyn ahead of them on percentage. The Burners have Vermont and Doncaster across the next fortnight which could see them back at square one with a 6-6 record. Rowville has Doncaster, North Ringwood and Balwyn, whilst the Tigers face Montrose and the Dogs before their Round 13 clash with the Hawks. Both sides should be 7-5 heading into that one which makes it a tasty clash to look forward too.
Devils stay in the race
Wantirna South showed how good it can be, relishing the wet conditions against a young and smaller Park Orchards side. After a goalless first term the Devils kicked 10 goals to five after the first break with Taylor Leggate snagged four, whilst Brent Walker was best a field. The Devils’ win moves them to 5-5 and two games away from fourth-placed Upper Gully. The Devils face Mooroolbark, Mulgrave and Mitcham over the next few weeks. Should they win all those games they’ll make up some ground on the teams above them.
For Park Orchards, next week’s clash with Upper Gully suddenly becomes absolutely massive as the Sharks cannot afford to move two games out of the four. I’m sticking by the Sharks, but Jarrad Bayliss and his men have a huge task ahead of them this weekend in front of their home crowd.
Rain almost creates a shock weekend
This weekend almost blew the Division 3 finals and top three race wide open. South Belgrave almost knocked off Boronia, with the Saints leading by 10 points at the final change, but alas they couldn’t find a major in the last, losing by a point. Ferntree Gully also lead at the final change, by nine points and like South Belgrave they too failed to kick a goal in last, going down by 14 points. Meanwhile, Templestowe matched the undefeated Redbacks for a half of footy before fading away.
This tells me two things. Firstly despite complaints about the weather, every now and again it’s good for local footy if we keep having games like this, between sides so far apart on the table.
Secondly, Fin Brown is going to be a star. The young Jets forward now has 32 goals for the season, despite his string bean physique he continues to play big games for the Jets. Has a great run and jump at the footy and kicks truly more often than not, so watch this space on the long-haired number 18 at the Hangar.
Hawks perched on top, Cougars stumble yet again.
In wet, yet not quite as wild a weather as their earlier meeting this season, Glen Waverley inflicted revenge upon its neighbour East Burwood, and simultaneously became the Division 4 premiership favourite. Adam Amin was the anthesis of his Round 2 self, kicking five goals in a man of the match performance, whilst Matthew Ferguson kicked three majors and Ben Pickering played an impressive game. The Hawks have now on their past nine games and only have Forest Hill to come of the current top four, making them look very good for a massive tilt at the flag.
Meanwhile Kilsyth continued their love-hate relationship with making the finals. After beating Forest Hill and Fairpark in the two rounds leading into this clash, the Cougars made the trip to Silvan knowing a win would keep them within touching distance with most of the top four. A 10-goal to two second half saw the Cougars lie down for the home side, with Daniel Dickson kicking three and coach Trent Martin finishing best on ground for the Cats.
Whilst we must recognise the Silvan performance as they notched their third win of the year, Kilsyth cannot be ignored for their failure to take another opportunity. It doesn’t matter how many finals contenders the Cougars knock off, they won’t be playing finals footy until they learn to put away sides well below them.
All views expressed in this article remain those of the author and not of the Eastern Football League or its affiliated clubs.
