Diamond Creek kept its A Plus Labour Solutions Division 2 finals hopes alive with a stirring 23-point win over Eltham at Coventry Oval in Round 17.
Having lost to the Panthers in their preview two encounters this season, the Creekers needed the win to have any chance of playing finals and produced a dominant four-quarter effort in the 12.14 (86) to 9.9 (63) win.
Last year’s runner-up remain in fifth position on the ladder heading into the final round ahead of what shapes as a mini elimination final in Round 18 against fourth-placed Thomastown – who they sit behind by one win and 1.71 percent.
Eltham has lost its past two matches after going through the opening 15 games unbeaten. However, the Panthers already had first place locked up so not all is doom and gloom.
Josh Marchbank, Danyon Kambouris and Lorey led from the front for Diamond Creek, whilst Gavan Connelly, Lane Sinclair and Adam Brovedani were the shining lights for Eltham.
Diamond Creek started the game in ideal fashion, kicking two goals through Jacob Booth and Nicholas Barro from centre-bounce clearances to race out to a 12-point lead after two minutes.
Rory Kavanagh goaled again for the Creekers not long after, before Tim Currie hit back for the Panthers at the 10-minute mark.
But the response would be short-lived as the Creekers ended the term with goals to Jai Norman and Ryan Pingree to lead by 28 points at the first change.
Having been smashed the inside-50 and clearance counts in the first quarter, the Panthers looked to have gotten back on the right track as they opened they second term with a pair of goals from Anton Woods and Tim Currie to reduce the margin to 17 points.
The Creekers managed to claw their way back with goals from Kavanagh and Moloney, extending the lead to a game-high 31 points.
However, Eltham was able to finish the quarter the better, with goals from Lewis and Bronson Glasgow seeing the visitor trail by 18 points at half time.
The momentum for Eltham continued at the start of the third quarter, as Brendan O’Sullivan goaled early on to cut the margin to just 12 points and make it three goals in a row for the Panthers.
However, Diamond Creek again found its feet and went on to kick the next three goals, pushing the lead back out to 30 points and moving a step closer to securing the four points.
Brandon Freeman kicked a goal after the three-quarter time siren to give the Panthers a chance of a comeback in the last term, and that almost became a reality as Josh Merkel kicked the first goal of the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to 18 points.
But it would prove to be to no avail as an exchange of goals saw Diamond Creek maintained a comfortable advantage throughout the last term, before a sealer by Barro saw out the game with the Creekers ahead by 23 points.
Final score: Diamond Creek 12.14 (86) def Eltham 9.9 (63)
