The conditions were tough at Whatmough Park and forced some inaccurate kicking by both sides, but when it mattered Mernda was able to kick away to a 8.12 (60) to 6.15 (51) win.
Mernda had the only multiple goal scorers for the day with Tim Anderson and Tom Deayton each slotting two and singles going to Luke Howard, Rohan Davies, Cameron Curlis and Nathan Mills.
For the losing side, Kane Paterson, Dillan Ronalds, Michael Costanzo, Matthew Irvine, Matthew Patti and Leigh Murphy all kicked one apiece.
With Mernda coming off the bye last weekend and St Mary’s coming off a loss to Panton Hill, both teams came out hard in the first quarter, desperate to earn their second win of the season.
Due to the wet weather, the ball was hard to take cleanly and there was a lot of contested footy with the ball stuck under packs for much of the term.
Goals were hard to come by and the first didn’t come until late in the term when Patti kicked truly for St Mary’s.
Mernda kicked its first after the quarter time siren when skipper Rohan Davies brought the scores level with a great goal from outside 50m.
In the second quarter the weather began to improve but the scoring still didn’t flow with Mernda kicking 2.2 to St Mary’s 1.4 to give the visitors a four-point lead going into half time.
After the main break, it was still very much of the same as the first half with low scoring from both sides.
With the intensity and tackling pressure immense, both sides managed just one goal between them in the opening 20 minutes of the term, before the game was brought to a halt due to a horrific injury leg injury to Matthew Millett.
The game was stopped for almost 45 minutes as the players and crowd waited for an ambulance to take the Millett from the field.
When play got back underway it looked as if the injury had dampened St Mary’s spirits and Mernda responded with a goal within 30 seconds of the restart.
At the final break Mernda was in front by just two points and the game looked like it could go either way.
But it was Mernda’s experience which eventually shined through, kicking three goals to two in an intense final term to take the win.
The midfield was very even due to the wet conditions with both teams struggling to get clear possession, although Mernda ruckman Tim Atkins did impress in his first game in the blue and red jumper.
Next week Mernda returns to its home paddock to play Watsonia who suffered a 57-point loss at the hands of Panton Hill on Saturday.
St Mary’s faces the bye and will look to regroup before also taking on the Saints in two weeks’ time.
Final score: St Mary’s 6.15 (51) def by Mernda 8.12 (60)
