Mernda have stamped their authority on the Heidelberg Golf Club Division 3 competition following a resounding 72-point triumph over Epping at Waterview Recreation Reserve.
It was a back-and-forth contest in the opening quarter, but the Demons burst the game open with six unanswered majors in the second term, never looking back from that point on their way a comprehensive 19.3 (117) to 6.9 (45) victory.
Robert Fletcher’s men now move to a 3-1 record after four games, sitting behind only Old Eltham Collegians and the Fitzroy Stars on the ladder.
Mernda forward Bryce Kimuliatis feasted on the repeat entries inside forward 50 and finished his afternoon with seven majors. He displayed excellent forward craft and was able to take multiple contested marks in his side’s victory.
He was assisted by Matthew Bawden who produced a bag of five goals for the second consecutive week.
Both Lincoln Coffey and Lachlan Taylor controlled things in the ruck and played instrumental roles in putting the Demons in control of the match in the second term.
Their dominance allowed for Joel Harris to be the most prolific midfielder for the afternoon, bursting out of stoppages and being difficult to contain for many patches of the game.
The Blues were led by Liam Waldron despite the heavy defeat, who was a solid contributor around the ground and in the ruck when required.
Leigh Judd continued on from his great performance last week with another strong showing, pinpointing his targets with ease when disposing of the footy by hand, while Daniel Rakhlin was Epping’s only multiple goalkicker with three goals.
Right from the centre bounce, the game looked like it was going to be heavily contested, with neither team getting any uncontested ball in the first few minutes.
It was also apparent that Epping’s tackle pressure in the initial stages had continued from last week’s big win over Kinglake. They gave Mernda no time to breathe, and the Demons found it hard to keep the ball inside their forward half of the ground.
Despite that, the hosts were able to produce the first major of the game through Aydin Kesici with an opportunist goal, grabbing the ball out of the contest in the pocket and running into an open goal.
As the game wore on, the intensity didn’t waver and spectators had to wait another ten minutes to see another major scored, as Rakhlin got going for the Blues with a nice finish from the boundary.
Epping’s tackle pressure continued, and they were rewarded with further majors from Luke Lirosi and Michael Gillard to make it three straight for Brad Hollow’s men.
Mernda hit back almost instantly against the run of play, with Christian Evans kicking a regulation goal from 30 metres out before Bryce Kimuliatis opened his account on the quarter time siren.
Despite trailing by a point at the first change, the Blues continued to lift their intensity in the early moments of the second quarter.
More rewards came from their tackling pressure in the form of scoring opportunities, however this time, they were unable to convert those chances into goals, kicking three straight behinds.
After the initial flurry, Mernda settled and found themselves with the ball more often.
Kimuliatis’ second major kicked off a scoring run for last year’s minor premiers, and any questions of which way the momentum was swinging was answered with the next goal as Matthew Bawden kicked one of the goals of the day from the edge of the boundary line.
Lincoln Coffey and Lachlan Taylor were providing their midfielders first use in almost every stoppage as their side continued to attack relentlessly.
By comparison, Epping looked like a different outfit compared to their competitive first quarter. The tackle pressure that they prided themselves on had dissipated, allowing the home side to generate opportunity after opportunity.
What didn’t help their cause was how accurate the Demons were in the quarter, with Bawden and Kimuliatis sharing the load to boost their side’s margin to 32 points at half time.
Robert Fletcher’s side never let off the gas pedal coming out of the break, and they continued their onslaught. As the game opened up, Epping midfielders struggled to keep up with their counterparts, allowing the hosts to generate repeat entries inside 50.
They would kick seven goals from eight scoring shots in the term, as the Demons dominated in every facet of the ground to lead by 63 points at three quarter time.
In the last term Epping found themselves winning more of the ball, but their accuracy let them down again as they only managed one major from four scoring opportunities.
Epping were much more competitive in the last quarter, but Mernda’s dominance in the previous two terms was the story of the afternoon. The home side still won the quarter and ended the match 72-point winners.
