THE COMPETITION’S top three teams, Thomastown, Reservoir and South Morang, all had comfortable wins in Round 11 action in Division 3, beating Watsonia, St Mary’s and Parkside respectively.
South Morang moved two games clear of fourth-placed Watsonia after a massive 118-point win over Parkside at Mill Park Lakes Reserve.
The Lions took advantage of the multiple forced changes to the Devils team to hit the ground running. They led by seven goals at quarter time and controlled the game thereafter.
“We are playing our style of footy, maintaining a bit of form and we did not let them score too heavily against us,” Lions coach Craig Lambert said.
New recruit Matthew Trim scored four goals as part of a multi-pronged attack and was the Lions’ best in his first senior game for the club.
Parkside struggled for ruck options after Brad McGillien was injured in the first term.
“The boys showed a bit of pride for the football club,” Parkside coach George Lattouf noted after the game, referring to the way his team toughed it out and was competitive late in the contest. Nick Burton was best for the Devils.
South Morang is now sitting safely in third spot as it goes to the bye in Round 12.
Elsewhere, Reservoir drew away for a big win over in-form St Mary’s at Crispe Park. The Burra were in the contest early, trailing by just 17 points after a congested first half.
But the Mustangs’ 10-goal to two second half saw them to cruise to a 66-point victory. And while some of the Reservoir stars were quiet, others rose to the challenge in a dominant performance.
“We are not relying on our best players every week,” Mustangs coach Ross Terranova said. “We have depth and when players are coming up (from the reserves), they are standing up.”
One such player was inclusion Matt Crump, who booted two goals, while Leigh Sullivan and young star Ben Meroli also excelled.
Another up and coming star, John Desmond, who was named as an inclusion this week, was a late withdrawal for St Mary’s. Kane Paterson was named best for the Burra in defeat.
Thomastown dominated early against Watsonia at A.K. Lines Reserve, but inaccuracy kept the Saints in the game. Despite eight more scoring shots, the Bears lead at the main break was just eight points.
They eventually pulled away to a 49-point victory, despite Watsonia defender Corey Bennett holding leading goal kicker Jacob Osei-Duro to a solitary major.
“Our decision making was ordinary and our skill errors cost us,” Watsonia coach Damian Zanic said.
John Agius returned to form for Thomastown with a best on ground performance, while Michael Khoury stepped up to score three goals for the Bears in his second game back.
“It was a good team effort,” Bears coach Dean Sinclair said, on a day when his team dominated in all the key areas, but lacked some finishing skills in the 9.24 (78) to 4.5 (29) victory.
Dylan Fuller was a notable absentee for the Bears after being selected by the Northern Territory in their Under-18s Championships clash with NSW/ACT.
Round 12 sees Watsonia travel to Pitcher Park in a must win game against Parkside. They last met back in Round 3, when the Saints booted 15 goals to one after half time to record a massive 84-point win away from home. A win would see the Saints move two games clear in fourth spot by the end of the round if results go according to ladder positions.
After having its two-game winning streak ended, St Mary’s faces another tough assignment as it again takes to the road – this time travelling to Main Street Reserve to face top team Thomastown. Their Round 7 encounter at the same venue was a thriller, with the Bears getting over the line by only six points after St Mary’s led for the best part of three quarters.
Heidelberg West comes off the bye to host Reservoir at Heidelberg Park, desperate for a win to keep in touch with the top four. But it will be tough task against a team on a seven-game winning streak.
The Mustangs ran away with a 61-point win in their Round 6 clash at Crispe Park, after the Hawks had closed to within 20 points early in the final term. The Mustangs are likely to regain key forward Toby O’Meara from injury for the clash.
