A look back at the weekend’s results from Round 8 of the Northern Football League’s junior competition.
In the Under-18 Girls competition, Darebin was able to hold off a fast-finishing Diamond Creek Womens outfit by eight points at Plenty Park. Leading by 20 points at the final change, the Creekers held the Falcons to just one goal in the final term and doubled their own score at the same time. However, it proved to not be enough as the Falcons scraped home with a hard earned win – their fourth of the year. Mill Park also recorded a tight win, beating Hurstbridge by 11 points. After trailing at the first break, the Stallions took the lead in the second quarter and did not give it up from then on at Kelynack Reserve. Other winners were Montmorency, in a tight game over South Morang, and Epping who recorded a more convincing win over Keon Park.
In the Under-17 Blue competition, Montmorency held off an inaccurate Eltham to record its fifth win of the season. Despite having 17 scoring opportunities, three more than the Magpies, the Panthers inaccuracy cost them as they went down by 12 points. The win saw Montmorency move into fourth place on the ladder. Meanwhile, ladder-leader South Morang produced a six-goal to nil final term to come from behind over Mill Park. Trailing by eight points at the final break, the Lions kicked into gear in the final term to storm away with a 29-point win. Diamond Creek beat Research in a three-point thriller, where the margin was less than a goal at each change.
Whittlesea bounced back in the Under-17 Red competition, coming from behind at three quarter time to defeat Wallan by 32 points at Wallan Recreational Reserve. Trailing by six points at the final change, the Eagles kept the Magpies scoreless in the last term and booted five unanswered goals to record the win, on the back of a five-goal haul from Joel Naylor. In the remaining matches, Thomastown and South Morang both recorded tight wins, defeating Epping and Hurstbridge by 16 and 22 points respectively.
The Under-16 Blue competition saw Wallan hold off a fast-finishing Diamond Creek outfit to record its fifth win of the season and move into outright third on the ladder. Trailing by 19-points at the final break, the Creekers kept the Magpies to only a single point in the last quarter but fell seven points short of a comeback win. South Morang continued on its winning way, beating West Preston-Lakeside for its eighth win of the season, while Epping was also a winner in Round 8, beating Yarrambat by three goals at Yarrambat Memorial Park.
Montmorency bounced back in the Under-16 Red competition, claiming its second victory of the year with a 44-point triumph over Bundoora Park. The win saw the Magpies move into fourth on the ladder thanks to a best on ground performance from 100th gamer Benjamin Jurkovic. Ladder leaders Research and Eltham were both also able to record Round 8 wins, beating Mill Park and Greensborough respectively to keep their places inside the top two on the ladder.
South Morang produced a strong performance in the Under-15 Blue competition to beat Mill Park at Redleap Reserve. On the back of five-goal hauls from Riley Mills and Nicolas Aleksovski, the Lions’ win kept them atop the ladder. Eltham, Laurimar Black and Montmorency were the other Round 8 winners, each recording important wins over Greensborough, Whittlesea and Wallan in close encounters.
Epping produced a strong performance in the Under-15 Red competition, beating Eltham at Epping Recreational Reserve to maintain first place on the ladder. The closest result of the competition came at Ben Frilay Oval, where Lalor got over the line against Hurstbridge by 13 points, despite only kicking four behinds in the final term. Other winners were West Preston-Lakeside and Research who beat Laurimar Teal and South Morang.
Wallan and Greensborough produced a thrilling game in the Under-15 Girls competition, as the Magpies recorded a one-point win over the Boro. A best on ground performance from Hayley George ensured the Magpies did enough to hold in the low-scoring 19-18 win, despite the Boro recording four more scoring shots in the final term. Yarrambat, Eltham, Mill Park, Epping and Diamond Creek Womens Blue all recorded wins in Round 8 ahead of the break over the Queen’s Birthday weekend.
