A disciplined Banyule defensive unit led the way to producing a valuable 15-point win over Montmorency in their Melbourne Greyhounds Division 1 clash at Beverley Road Oval.
In a low scoring contest, the Bears impressed massively inside their defensive half, keeping the Magpies to their lowest score since Round 13, 2023 on their way to a 9.5 (59) to 6.8 (44) triumph, their first victory over Montmorency in club history.
Banyule’s defensive efforts were led by Sam McLarty, who had a stellar performance after returning to the side this week. Tasked with the all-important job on reigning competition leading goalkicker Patrick Fitzgerald, the former Collingwood listed defender won the battle, keeping Fitzergald goalless for the first time since 2022.
Victorious coach Paul Harris praised McLarty’s game-winning efforts, and also gave credit to the midfielders who limited Montmorency’s ability to generate efficient entries inside 50.
“He [Fitzgerald] kicked a few goals against us last year, obviously a lot of their score goes through him, fortunately we had Sam McLarty came back in the team today and I thought he did a great job down there,” Harris said.
“I thought Sam did a great job, but I thought it was the guys up the field too, which probably made the delivery to Fitzgerald a little bit harder for him.”
Kye Yodgee was one of those midfielders who was instrumental in ensuring Banyule controlled key aspects of the game, while Jack Sammartino was also amongst his side’s best for a second straight week.
Nash Holmes had another terrific performance for the Magpies, and stood up in place of Marcus Lentini, who did not feature during the afternoon. He was one of two multiple goalkickers for the visitors alongside Nicolas Uzelac in his first senior game of the season.
Uzelac kicked the first major of the day after intercepting a risky Banyule pass out of defence before Lewin Davis fired back for Banyule after converting from a tight angle.
The contest was fierce, with both teams applying frantic pressure, while territory was hard to gain for either side.
The Magpies were able to get on top later in the term, with Corey Sleep, Nash Holmes and Bronson Hill all hitting the scoreboard to help the visitors lead by 15 points at quarter time.
Banyule came out strongly in the second term and looked the better of the two teams.
Aydin Dani kicked a stunning goal to open his team’s account for the quarter, defying the odds by running away from his opponent and snapping the ball almost over his own head from near the boundary.
Banyule were dominant, but the Montmorency defence was hard to penetrate through in the first half of the quarter and it took some quick transition out of defence for the Bears to be rewarded with their second goal of the term.
Kye Yodgee then brilliantly evaded traffic out of a forward 50 stoppage, snapping out of the contest to make it three goals to nothing for the term for the hosts, leading the main break by two points as a result.
An intriguing third quarter saw both teams register multiple goals, Holmes slotting the first tucked up against the boundary, before Nicholas Uzelac made it two in a row for the Magpies.
Montmorency’s lead would not last long however, as Jack Sammartino found space on the fat side of the ground and kicked truly on the run to keep the Bears in the game.
Patrik Della Rocca got his home crowd up and about, nearly reeling in a spectacular mark in the goal square. Moments later, he failed to convert a tricky shot himself, but a strong mark from Kurt Aylett meant the hosts would have another shot at goal – this time kicking true.
Jack Langford made it three in a row for the Bears, with his goal coming right before the three-quarter-time siren to put Banyule six points to the good at the final break.
Montmorency looked like they might level the scores early into the final term, but Lachlan King courageously went back with the flight in his team’s defensive 50 to prevent a certain shot at goal.
The Magpies were eager to take the game on, but a failed switch at centre half back led to a Bears interception, and Oscar White lowered his eyes to successfully find Patrik Della Rocca. He was unable to convert however, meaning the hosts held an eight-point lead 20 minutes into the final term.
Montmorency locked the ball inside their front half for a significant amount of time, but Banyule escaped through the corridor and went coast-to-coast to find Della Rocca again. This time, he unselfishly handballed to Daniel Owen, who ran into an open goal square and kicked the sealer for Bears.
