Whittlesea’s flawless 2024 MC Labour Division 2 campaign continued on Saturday, recording a 23-point triumph over South Morang at J.J. Clancy Reserve to make it a remarkable 16 straight matches without defeat.
The Lions, who were looking for a ninth straight victory themselves, stuck with their opposition initially, but were unable to stop the skilful Eagles, who kicked away after quarter time and created enough of a lead on their way to a 12.9 (81) to 8.10 (58) win.
Playing just his fourth match of the season, VFL listed star Blake Watson excelled in the middle to finish as his side’s best, while Riley Powell and Chirstian Prestopino were terrific up forward and finished with three majors apiece.
James Traianou got back to his best to be a standout for South Morang, while Mitchell Kalpakis was the Lions’ most threatening forward, being one of three players to kick two majors for his side.
Powell and Prestopino would get things underway for Whittlesea with the opening two goals of the match to try and set the tone for the remainder of the afternoon.
South Morang pulled one back when James Hewson converted his set shot on goal, but he was outdone by Taidgh Bland at the other end, with the star Eagles midfielder nailing a snap from the pocket, while under plenty of pressure, which found its way through the big sticks.
The Lions would respond almost immediately, before a late Jaron Murphy major helped Garry Ramsay’s men take a 12-point advantage into quarter time.
With the same scoring shots, South Morang had done well to keep up with the ladder leaders, but were just lacking extra accuracy on goal, which was threatening to hurt their chances early in the second term, when Prestopino produced his second of the match to take the lead out to 16 points.
A behind to either side was all the scoring the game would see across the next 10 minutes, before Gary Hall’s men broke the deadlock when Jesse Christidis ran in and kicked what Lions fans were hoping would be the firestarter, as the margin reduced to 10 points.
But the dynamic duo of Powell and Prestopino would come into play again for Whittlesea, albeit as benefactors of two metre penalties, as they set the lead to 22 points at the main break.
With the Lions’ ill-discipline acts putting them behind the eight-ball to start the second half, Whittlesea capitalised to apply more scoreboard pressure when Blake Watson kicked truly early in the third quarter.
Just over a minute later, the Eagles had another goal to keep the scorers busy, as Riley Powell managed his third major of the contest to really put the away side on the backfoot.
The Lions had ample opportunities to get themselves back in the game but could only manage three consecutive behinds in a frustrating seven-minute stretch.
It allowed Whittlesea to produce what seemed to be the knockout blow with just seconds remaining in the third term, when Riley Carter intercepted a South Morang defensive kick, before finding Jack Morely who snapped an impressive goal from the pocket.
The lead was 39 points to start the final term, but the ladder leaders wanted more, and they got more, when Clancy Bland kicked a major to take their advantage out to a game-high 45 points.
Christidis would kick a second goal for the Lions, which ended an almost two-quarter goal drought from his side, to start what would be a four-goal run for South Morang.
But even with the margin getting to 21 points late in the quarter, time was against the Lions, with a Mitchell Andrews goal sealing a 16th consecutive triumph for Whittlesea.
