Mernda won a close contest and the Les Butterworth Cup against Heidelberg West in Round 4 action of Heidelberg Golf Club Division 3.
The win looked to be a formality at the first break – with the Demons up 4.6 to 0.4 without the wind being any factor at Heidelberg Park.
They were sweeping the ball from defence and setting up numerous scoring opportunities. Christian Cawsey was a forward target with two majors in the first term.
But the Hawks came roaring back into the contest in the second quarter. They managed seven goals from the ten-minute mark. The onslaught saw the home team lead by the narrowest of margins at the main break in front of enthusiastic locals.
Brad Moore was best for the Hawks and booted two majors, with two to impressive Jack Marris and three to Matthew Reinke.
Mernda captain Joshua Delaney was his side’s best defender in the first half, but was swung forward after half time. He provided a great target but managed four behinds for the third term.
The Demons managed a wasteful 2.7 to 2.1 for the quarter and left the door ajar for Heidelberg West, but led narrowly at the last change.
When Mernda goaled in the first minute of the final term, it appeared that they might run away with the contest.
But it was a dour struggle from there on. The Hawks tried valiantly, but the Demons were winning the contested ball late in the game, shut down their opponent’s run and managed to hang on. Thankfully for Delaney, he nailed a goal in the final stanza.
The late highlight was when Hawk Daniel Offer marked at half forward and sent a precision pass – with little margin for error – onto the chest of Stuart Guthrie. It provided them with their sole goal for the quarter.
The match proved to be a tougher test for the Demons than many would have expected.
“It was scrappy and we weren’t impressive, but we will take the win,” Mernda coach Paul Derrick said.
Derrick was pleased that the inexperienced players all contributed. The best of these was under-19 player Brayden Gardiner, who applied good pressure as a forward and kicked a great goal from a tight angle after intercepting a kick-out.
The win puts a gap between Mernda – on three wins from four games – and the winless Heidelberg West. But the Hawks have a game in hand and have now shown that they can be competitive with the top bracket.
A pre-game concern for Mernda was the potential dominance of Heidelberg West’s Jarryd Coulson in the ruck. But Derrick was happy that Anthony Talbot made it a real contest. The Demons also were well served by Adrian Stefanile and Tom Deayton.
Down back, Matthew Campbell took numerous intercept marks – especially when Heidelberg West was pressing late in the game.
The Hawks had their chances, but turned the ball over too often.
“We just have to be cleaner,” Heidelberg West coach Gary Cutler said. Nonetheless, it was a far superior performance to the previous week against Panton Hill. Cutler liked the contributions of promoted Samuel James in the midfield and Kane Moore down back.
Heidelberg West faces Reservoir in Round 5 at Heidelberg Park as both teams look to open their accounts for 2018.
Mernda’s win kept it in third spot on the table and the Demons will look to consolidate their ladder position against Lalor at Waterview Recreation Reserve. It will be the first time these teams have met in Division 3.
Final score: Heidelberg West 10.8 (68) def by Mernda 10.18 (78)
