Epping made a powerful statement to the rest of the Heidelberg Golf Club Division 3 competition after a comfortable 45-point triumph over Mernda at Epping Recreational Reserve.
The 14.9 (93) to 7.6 (48) win is the first against a top three opponent for the Blues in 2024 and keeps them inside the top five as a result.
Although Epping won every quarter, the local fans wouldn’t have been blamed for being a bit concerned at quarter time. It was a dominant opening stanza by the hosts in terms of general play, but they arguably should have been further ahead.
In the drizzly conditions, quite a few marks inside fifty didn’t stick, but when they did get their hands on the ball inside 50, a few gettable shots were missed from Epping, which yielded a 2.6 to 0.2 scoreline at the first break.
The second term looked to be a crucial part of the contest for Mernda, but once again, the Blues controlled the play, and this time they hit the scoreboard and blew their 16-point quarter time lead out to 29 points at the main break.
The Demons came out firing in the third term and scored early goals courtesy of Travis Keating and Joel Harris to reduce the deficit back to 16 points. At that juncture, a comeback win by Mernda looked extremely likely.
However, Epping hit back almost immediately through Adrian Alfonsi and two more majors to Daniel Rakhlin. It reinforced the trend of the game in that the Blues were able to produce an answering goal whenever threatened.
At the last break and being 33 points down, Mernda coach Robert Fletcher noted that nothing the team was doing seemed to be working and urged them to go hard to force a turnaround.
While the game looked safe as the final term began, the home crowd still weren’t convinced. But soon after, Sebastian Latina and Daniel Rakhlin slammed the door shut.
Latina booted three goals in ten minutes to finish with four on the day while Rakhlin slotted his third and was later awarded the Terry Bracher Medal for being the best on ground in the Patrick Chow Cup game.
“We played our brand of footy and handled the conditions well,” Epping coach Brad Hollow said.
As well as his goal-kickers, Hollow liked the work of Joshua Bawden who rucked in the absence of Michael Gillard, while also giving credit to midfielders Corey Middleton and James Tadd.
Daniel O’Kearney and Jordan Hollow mopped up at half back and gave the Blues drive.
Their teammate Adrian Alfonsi kicked two majors but was also involved in a highlight. Marking deep in the pocket in the final term, Alfonsi kicked to a man in a better position, which turned out to be defender Dallyce Taylor, who slotted through the goal from 35 metres out to register his first major of the season.
Winners were much harder to find in the visitor’s camp, with Mernda coach Robert Fletcher acknowledging that Epping adjusted better to the conditions.
Fletcher gave plaudits to winger Jayden Bell as well as Joel Harris. Harris played mainly in the centre square but also managed to kick two goals when drifting inside 50.
Promising teenager Lincoln Coffey also scored two majors for the Demons. His second goal was a great effort, as he slotted it from 20-metres out on the boundary while being tackled.
The Mernda players were unable to cover for their lists of “outs” in Matthew Bawden, Matthew Golledge and Riley Vincent as well as late withdrawal Dayne Kellett. With three of that quartet being regular defenders, the away side conceded their biggest score of the season in the defeat.
