THOMASTOWN kept its unbeaten record in Round 8 action of Division 3, while South Morang and St Mary’s both won to move level on wins with their respective opponents.
St Mary’s visited Heidelberg Park hoping to turn its recent close losses against Watsonia and Thomastown into a victory over Heidelberg West.
The Burra lost John Desmond, James Ind, Jason Grgic and Adam Carnell from their selected side, replaced by Dylan Flannery, Jarrad Miller, Cruz Bradshaw and captain Michael Costanzo. Co-captain Dan Bailey was a key out for the Hawks.
Both teams moved the ball well through the midfield early, but broke down inside forward 50m – with Heidelberg West clearly missing injured spearhead Kyl Ewart, while the Burra frustrated their coach Con Borg by bombing the ball in aimlessly.
The St Mary’s game style seems to be to never kick to a 50-50 contest, but to attempt to find a loose player or an uneven contest in their favour. They gradually got on top in the middle quarters and had a target up forward in teenager Joshua Farrugia – with four goals.
His team led by 46 points at the last break – and eventually won by that margin after they kicked 4.1 to 3.7 in the final stanza.
James Brunton-McLean was best for the Hawks – continuing his stellar season.
St Mary’s now goes to the bye level with the Hawks on two wins.
Thomastown broke away after an even first quarter to record a 120-point victory over Parkside at Pitcher Park. The star of the show was Jacob Osei-Duro with 12 goals – taking his yearly tally to 37.
Bears’ coach Dean Sinclair was pleased with David Folino in his role as stand-in captain for the day. Shannon Ball, on the wing in the absence of Anthony Fazzari, was one of the best users of the ball. Sinclair also noted that Adrian Lesar was sent forward from deep in defence late in the game and slotted his first goal for the season.
Parkside’s coach George Lattouf was disappointed to be blown away in the second quarter. He had to call up a couple of reserves players to make up the numbers. “We didn’t give up,” said Lattouf, who gave Chris D’Agostino a pat on the back for his effort.
After crossing from Reservoir in the pre-season, Jason Cousins has played two games for the Devils and has been best both times. Darren Gresham performed well, but still appears to be short of full match fitness.
South Morang trailed Watsonia at every change against Watsonia at Mill Park Lakes Reserve, but stormed home with six goals to one in the final stanza to win running away by 29 points. The Lions’ best two players, Nick Johnston and Matthew Campbell, scored five goals apiece.
With momentum from their big win over the Hawks in Round 7, Watsonia led by 26 points at the first change, but were outscored 18 goals to 9 thereafter. Jeremy Bennett booted another seven goals and has kicked 19 in the Saints’ three matches since the bye.
Round 9 action sees Parkside host Heidelberg West at Pitcher Park. The Hawks won their last meeting with the Devils by 120 points, but have lost their subsequent four matches and this must now be considered a danger game as they look to keep in touch of the top four.
The Devils will be second up after the bye – and teams second up have outperformed expectations in each round so far this year.
South Morang will go into an important match against ladder leader Thomastown at Mill Park Lakes Reserve with some confidence after an impressive win over the Saints. After a tight first half, the Bears were big winners in the pair’s Round 4 match, but the Lions were first up from the bye that day.
Reservoir beat Watsonia by 50 points in their Round 4 clash at A.K. Lines Reserve ahead of their return fixture at Crispe Park this weekend. This second versus third game should draw a big crowd, with Ash Flavel up one end and Jeremy Bennett at the other.
The Mustangs will be favoured to win the home clash, but they are coming off the bye which hasn’t proved too successful for Division 3 clubs this year. Only Watsonia and Thomastown have won coming off the bye – both were narrow wins over St Mary’s.
