A look back over the final weekend of home and away action in the under-16 to under-18 junior competitions.
With South Morang having the bye this week, three games took place in Under 18 Girls with the round kicking off at Montmorency Park North Oval between Eltham and Montmorency. The Magpies looked to make it a perfect season by going undefeated while the Panthers’ aim was to finish the year on a high. The hosts were too strong, as has been the case throughout the campaign, and kept Eltham goalless in a 58-point win. Kira Lemire kicked four goals for the third time in her last three games. Teammate Jemma Gresh also played a terrific match for the Magpies while Ava Klaic was the visitors’ best, finishing what has been a great season for her.
Diamond Creek Women’s travelled to Laurimar Reserve to take on the Power. A three-goal to nil first term helped set up the Creekers’ 39-point triumph, keeping the Power goalless in the process. Ashley Leeson finished equal top of the goalkicking charts with 19 majors after kicking two goals on the weekend while Kiara Keenan was incredibly named in her side’s best for a 10th time in 11 games. Mabel Macmillan stood out for Laurimar, finishing as her side’s best for the second straight week.
Whittlesea finished off their home and away campaign by travelling to Yarrambat War Memorial Park to battle with Yarrambat. The Bats were aiming to end a two-game losing streak and after leading by just seven points at half time, they kicked eight goals to three in the second half to prevail by 38 points. A season-high four goals from Laura Messimeris helped set up the win while Jasmine Farrell kept up her solid form of late. Emily Wunderlich led the way up forward for the Eagles with two goals, while Emily Frankenberg made it a seventh consecutive appearance in her side’s best.
Four games took place in Under 17.5 Blue starting with Whittlesea, who took on Eltham at Whittlesea Showgrounds. The Panthers got the jump early and looked to kick away to an easy win, but the Eagles were able to fight back to keep it close at the half. Eltham produced another three-goal term in the third quarter and were able to maintain their lead to prevail by 18 points. Matthew Zrna played brilliantly again and kicked two goals alongside teammate Jett Williams. Jett Fraumano kicked two majors for the home side while Oscar Parkinson made it a fourth consecutive appearance in his side’s best after playing a great game.
Both Montmorency and Yarrambat got a nice tune up before finals in their match at Montmorency Park North Oval. The fourth placed Magpies started well early with a three goal to one opening term before the Bats took control of the contest, scoring nine goals to four for the remainder of the match to finish 19-point winners. Kyan Carman finished the season with 57 majors after scoring a bag of five goals for the third time in his last four games while teammate Ethem Arifoski was excellent. Dylan Constantin kicked three of the host’s seven majors for the afternoon while Blake Gibson had his best match of the season.
The closest game of the round took place at Epping Recreation Reserve as both Epping and Laurimar looked to claim one final win before the end of their season’s. The contest was a great one as the Power’s 17-point half time lead reduced to six points at three quarter time before a three-goal final term gave the Blues an eight-point victory at home. Kaiden Burns and Archer Bugden were outstanding for the hosts, particularly in the second half comeback, while Cooper Fitzpatrick was named as Laurimar’s bets for the second straight week.
Top of the table Diamond Creek Blue were out to finish their home and away campaign on a high when they took on West Preston-Lakeside at Coventry Oval. The Creekers were at their dominant best from start to finish, as they produced 32 scoring shots in a 110-point triumph, which was their third straight win. The hosts had 11 individual goalkickers for their 21 majors with Kade Garraway leading the way with five majors. Angelo Demarte also kicked three in a terrific performance while for the Roosters, Jack Capuana stood out.
Three games were played in Under 17.5 Red, starting with an intriguing contest between Wallan and Diamond Creek Red at Wallan Recreational Reserve, both sides had one win each coming into this game, which came against one another, and were hoping to end the 2023 campaign on a high. The Magpies led after quarter time, but only broke away in the final two quarters to win by 12 points. Ashton Studwick finished the season well with a season-high five goals while Thomas Fulvio stood out best for the Creekers.
J.J. Clancy Reserve was host to a brilliant match between finals bound sides Kilmore and Greensborough. Sitting in third and second placed respectively, each team put in a great display. The Blues led by 11 points at three quarter time against an inaccurate Boro side, before the visitors kicked three goals to one in the final term to sneak through a two-point win. Zac Wikes and Ethan Edwards bagged two goals each with Lachlan Clark continued his great form heading into finals. Brock Hall and Nicholas Lowry also kicked two each for Kilmore while Thomas Wardley made it a seventh consecutive appearance in his side’s best.
With top spot secured, South Morang were keen to make it 10 consecutive wins to round out the home and away season when they battled with Research at Mill Park Lakes Reserve. Their intent on doing so was illustrated from the start, maintaining a strong lead throughout the game to finish 32-point winners. Arnie Sui made it 18 majors in his last three games after a bag of five while Jake Kenovski was brilliant for the hosts. Josh Shepherd continued his incredible goalkicking feats for the Searchers despite the loss, producing six majors.
With Yarrambat having the bye, two important games took place in Under 16 Girls Blue, starting with Diamond Creek Women’s and Laurimar facing off at Plenty Park Oval. The Creekers were aiming for a ninth consecutive win while the Power were looking to avoid a third straight loss heading into finals. The game was well controlled by the hosts throughout, as they finished 61-point winners in the end. Siera Filippone was terrific again for her side and kicked two majors alongside teammate Zoe Ricardo. The Power had multiple contributors despite the defeat.
Research had top spot secured ahead of their Research Park clash with a Whittlesea outfit who needed to secure the four points to play finals football. But despite the Eagles best efforts, the Searchers were too strong, producing 17 scoring shots to win by 41 points. Abigail Flenley stood out for the home side, having her best game of the season while teammate Alli Allen kicked two majors. Lana Carroll completed a perfect campaign for Whittlesea and was terrific despite the loss.
Three games took place in Under 16 Girls Red with Darebin’s clash with Wallan at A.H Capp Reserve opening the round. The Magpies had to win to keep their spot in the finals while the Falcons already had top position secured. The visitors were kept scoreless in the opening term but put up a strong fight in the remaining three quarters, keeping the Falcons scoreless after half time to claim a seven-point triumph. Jayda Cooney was superb for Wallan, as was teammate Alannah Attard who kicked one of two goals for the side. Edie Villiers impressed for Darebin.
Diamond Creek Women’s 2 were looking to build some momentum ahead of finals when they hosted Mernda at Plenty Park Oval. The Creekers, who had to win to secure a top two spot, started the game strong with a four-goal first term, before never looking back on their way to a 19-point triumph. Abbey Eddington and Madeline Toone were the leaders in the front half for the hosts and kicked three majors each. Heyley Griffey produced another great performance for the Demons and was named as her side’s best.
It was a must-win game for Montmorency when they travelled to Susan Street Reserve to take on Eltham. The Magpies had gone three games unbeaten in the lead up to the contest but had to win again to climb into fourth spot. It was a tense game throughout as just one-point separated to two teams at the final change, before the Panthers kept the Magpies goalless in the final term to win by just four points. Two goals each from Eloise Sanders and Jade Van Hoeckel helped the hosts claim the win while Bridie Watson did all she could for Montmorency.
South Morang Blue finished the season with the bye as three games were played in Under 16 Blue. Finals bound sides Eltham Black and Whittlesea faced off at Eltham Central Park with the winner to secure a top two spot heading into finals. A five-goal second term propelled the Panthers into a 13-point lead at half time, before the Eagles fought back with a 57-point second half to win by 17 points. Justin Chambers-Jones was the star of the show up forward with six majors as teammate Blake Morley excelled again for the visitors. Eltham’s best efforts came from the likes of Oliver Hibbert and Lucas Di Giovane.
Mernda and Kilmore Blue did battle at Waterview Recreation Reserve with both teams looking to claim one a win to round out the 2023 campaign. When the Demons led by 23 points at three quarter time, they looked to run away with a comfortable victory, but it was the Blues who produced a scintillating final quarter, kicking five majors to win by nine points and claim their first victory of the season in style. Daniel Quinn’s three majors helped the visitors secure the win as well as the performance of Zac Osmond. Lincoln Coffey was the Demons’ best.
Top of the table Montmorency hosted fourth placed Yarrambat in the hopes of claiming a sixth consecutive win heading into the finals. The Magpies led by 13 points at half time and were able to remain on top of the Bats throughout the afternoon, finishing 27-point victors in front of their home crowd. Ashton Locklier kicked two goals for Montmorency with teammate Nash Dyer putting together a great game. Owen Muarem was a standout for the visitors while Lucas Martin was also solid.
Keen to build some form heading into finals, Epping hosted Eltham Red at Epping Recreation Reserve to kick off Round 14 in Under 16 Red. It was a slow start for the Blues, who led by four points at the first change, before surging through to register 28 scoring shots and win by 87 points. Dominic Galati was excellent up forward and kicked seven of his side’s 16 goals for the afternoon. Gabriel Bortolin also impressed for Epping while Ethan Allen did what he could for the Panthers.
With top spot secured, Research travelled out to Mill Park Lakes Reserve to face South Morang, who were determined to claim a third straight win ahead of finals action. The Searchers kept the Lions scoreless and led by 11 points at quarter time, but inaccuracy prevented the visitors from going with the job, as the Lions kicked 10 goals to two after quarter time to prevail by 34 points. The home side’s dominance was led by Stephen Pisani who slotted home a season-high seven majors. Joshua Northey meanwhile kicked all three of Research’s goals and was named as his side’s best.
The competition’s home and away season finished with Laurimar who took on Kilmore White at Laurimar Reserve. Inaccuracy kept the Blues in the contest for most of the game, but the Power were strong and finished 30-point winners to bounce back ahead of their finals campaign. Jack Cornwell and Mitchell Holland stood out as the home side’s best on the day, with he former making it a ninth appearance in his side’s best in 2023. Isaac Daniel produced a solid effort for the Blues despite the defeat.
