Eltham have kept their winning streak intact and have moved one step closer to a second MC Labour Division 2 minor premiership in four seasons after defeating Banyule by six points in an entertaining clash at Beverley Road Oval.
The 13.10 (88) to 12.10 (82) triumph was the Panthers’ 12th consecutive victory in season 2022 as they charge towards a top of the table finish.
Daniel Horsfield continued his spectacular season; he dominated in the midfield and kicked a crucial fourth quarter goal that proved to be the difference in his side’s win.
Harvey Furlong had his best game of the season, winning plenty of the ball on the wing as well as playing a big role in setting up some of Eltham’s goals.
Lane Sinclair was excellent in defence, taking multiple intercept marks across the day and has now been named in the Panthers’ best players in four of the last six games.
In just their third defeat of the season, and their second to Eltham, the Bears missed a huge opportunity to finish the round of level points with the Panthers, however their effort throughout the entire afternoon couldn’t be questioned.
Tim Martin was outstanding in the ruck and around the ground. His strong physical presence as well as his decision making kept the visitors in the contest for the entire game.
Jack Langford was the standout forward on the day kicking four majors, and Coaches MVP leader Riley Loton was influential in the midfield.
Eltham got on top almost immediately, after Daniel Owen was on the receiving end of the game’s opening clearance. The in-form forward kicked truly for his first of four goals for the match.
The Panthers kicked three of the first four majors of the game before the Bears gained control of the contest, kicking the last three goals of the quarter courtesy of Jack Langford, James Kayrooz, and Jacob Mitchell.
As a result, the Bears led by four points quarter time, it would be only the second time this season that the Panthers trailed at the first change.
It was the second term where Eltham started to get a strong hold of the match. They kicked six goals for the quarter to just Banyule’s one, with all six goals coming from different players, highlighting the Panthers’ teamwork.
Trailing by 22 points at half time, Langford got the Bears off to a good start in the second half kicking an early goal to cut the margin to 16, but Panthers answered straight back with goals from Matthew Byron and James Minahan to get out to a game-high margin of 28-points.
Langford kicked a late goal from the pocket to cut the margin to 22-points at the end of the third quarter to give the Bears some hope.
The visitors again started the last quarter on top with the ball played in their front half for a significant amount of time. They had repeat entries in their forward 50 and were able to kick the first two goals of the quarter through Lincoln Sieben and Jacob Mitchell to cut the margin to just eight points.
But then, against the run of play, Horsfield capped off his best on ground performance with a long-range goal to give the Panthers a 15-point lead just before time-on.
Despite late majors from Reuben Blackmoore-Moore and James Kayrooz, Horsfield’s goal proved to be enough as the home side held on for a six-point victory.
