South Morang produced one of their best performances of the 2023 MC Labour Division 2 season so far, defeating Northcote Park by 41 points at Bill Lawry Oval.
The Cougars led by four points at the main break before the Lions piled on 11 goals to three in the second half to secure a dominant 14.9 (93) to 7.10 (52) victory.
South Morang now sit in outright third at the end of Round 7, still a game behind Eltham and Diamond Creek. Northcote Park meanwhile remain in fourth, but only four points separate the Cougars and eighth spot.
Mitchell Kalpakis was outstanding in defensive 50, whether it was his intercept marking or his ability to bring the ball to ground in contests that he was outnumbered in, he was pivotal to his side’s triumph.
In the absence of club leading goal kicker Josh D’Intinosante, Kain Hall kicked five majors, four of those coming in the blistering second half that saw his side claim the win.
Deacon Kalpakis, Joshua Lansfield and Nathan Stefanile all impressed also for the visitors.
Northcote Park’s most consistent players for the afternoon were Alastair Punshon and Matthew Perry, while Daniel Tallariti kept direct opponent Gary Moorcroft to just one major for the afternoon in a solid display.
However, they struggled to get anything going in the forward half of the ground from the third term onwards, kicking 3.7 in the final two quarters of the game.
The hosts got things going early to produce the first goal of the match with a few minutes, courtesy of Rory Patterson, who would prove to be a valuable player all over the ground all day.
Gary Hall’s men took some time to get into the contest, before Tye Hall’s first major came at the nine-minute mark.
On his 25th birthday, Beau Moorcroft received an early present from his Dad Gary, who passed it off to Beau 45 metres out from goal before his kick sailed through the big sticks to put South Morang in front.
Late goals from Leo Amad and Benjamin Augustus put Northcote Park ahead by six points at quarter time after what was one of the home side’s best periods of the game.
Not as many majors were produced in the second term, despite both sides gaining multiple entities inside 50.
Patterson kicked his second for the Cougars before a nice finish from Adrian Alessandrino kept the Lions within reach as they trailed by four points at half time.
South Morang would then take the match by the scruff of its neck from the opening minutes of the third term and would go on to kick five of the six third quarter goals.
Kain Hall led the charge with two majors while Dean De Propertis’ first goal in senior football nine minutes into the quarter was a nice highlight.
Ben Muscat also produced a rare major from range while Gary Moorcroft got the crowd involved with a great contested mark and set shot conversion.
Northcote Park’s back six were under immense pressure and had no answers for their opposition’s consistent inside 50 entries.
On the flip side, the Lions were well coordinated to deal with any attacking threats from the Cougars, as even without their skipper Mathew Robinson, the Kalpakis boys, as well as Reece Jones and Joshua Renehen picked off almost every entry.
South Morang were all but certain to run away with the game after establishing a 20-point three quarter time advantage, and after two majors in the opening five minutes of the final quarter, the Lions had done enough.
Alex Boyse going forward in the last term provided some relief for Stephen Saddington’s men, but the move came seemingly too late as a six-goal final quarter secured South Morang’s fifth win of the campaign.
