THE GAME was up for grabs in the final term of each Division 3 match last weekend, paving the way for a big day of action in Round 5.
St Mary’s notched back-to-back victories with a come-from-behind win over Reservoir at Crispe Park. The seven-point victory stunned the local crowd who were expecting the Mustangs to hold on after leading by 20 points.
“It was a really important win for the club,” St Mary’s coach Con Borg said. “They had beaten us seven times in a row.”
Nick Gedge played his best game for the year for the Burra, while Daniel Dober was a forward target. His two goals takes him to eight for the year.
“It was disappointing that, when it mattered most, our players didn’t step up,” Reservoir coach Ross Terranova said.
The unrelated Ryans, Ben and Liam, were among the best for the Mustangs, while Lee Grattidge impressed for the second week running.
Watsonia remained undefeated and on top of the ladder with a strong win over Banyule at Beverley Road Reserve. Coming from two points down at the last break, the Saints finished strongly with the breeze to run away with a 30-point victory.
Andrew Bennett was a dangerous forward and finished with five goals, while Hayden Mitchell slotted two and once again was named in the best for the Saints. Richard Dennis finished with five majors for the Bears, while Luke Giles racked up the stats in the midfield.
Epping came from five-goals behind to win by 17 points over Heidelberg West at Heidelberg Park. The Hawks had a handy lead at various stages of the game, but were unable to hold out the fast-finishing Blues.
Youngsters Lucas Aquilina and Leigh Judd gave Epping great drive off half back. Up forward, Chris Chilcott booted three goals but was eclipsed by his compatriot Paul Dempsey with a bag of five.
Early on the Blues found it tough to defend the wide spaces of the ground and the Hawk players used their local knowledge to consistently move the ball from defensive 50 down to the other end for a score.
Kyl Ewart capitalised up forward for Heidelberg West with five goals to take his tally to 13 for the season, while Michael Shanahan was named the Hawks’ best.
Epping goes to the bye well placed in second spot on the ladder and will travel to Banyule in Round 6.
This week Heidelberg West travels to A.K. Lines Reserve to face Watsonia in a top versus bottom contest. The Hawks are three wins and 60% behind the Saints. This compares to a percentage gap of 174% between first and last at the same stage in 2014.
Their matches in 2014 resulted in a 95-point win for the Saints and a one-point win for the Hawks at home when they came from 31 points down at half time.
South Morang comes off the bye to host an in-from St Mary’s at Mill Park Lakes Reserve. The win over Reservoir gives St Mary’s a chance to go to the Round 6 bye in front of the ledger and entrenched in the top four.
It would be a major plus for the Burra if they could defeat three highly-rated teams in consecutive weeks, the last two of which would be on the road.
The Lions were 101-point winners over St Mary’s at this ground last season and then scraped over the line by four points in their Whatmough Park encounter. A good win by South Morang could propel it into second spot.
Reservoir hosts Banyule with both sides struggling in sixth and fifth spot respectively. But the good news is the winner of this crunch game stands a good chance of being in the top four at the end of the round.
Reservoir was unbeatable in Division 3 last season – bar for Thomastown. However, the Mustangs now find themselves at 1-3 after four games. They will need to get themselves up mentally after a crushing home loss – when the four points appeared safe for most of the day.
The Bears started their NFL campaign with a bang – but now need to steady the ship with an away win after successive losses to St Mary’s and Watsonia.
With close results and upsets occurring regularly in Division 3 in 2015, no team can afford to drop their guard – regardless of the opponent.
