The action heats up as round 12 of Heidelberg Golf Club Division 3 football approaches.
Round 11 football saw all the results go as expected, but the margins painted an interesting picture.
Old Eltham Collegians played Epping at Eltham College, with both teams coming off the bye. The break seemed to be a positive for the Turtles, who led by two goals early in the second term.
Then the Blues took control and won by 55-points despite the home team maintaining their effort. Adrian Alfonsi had his best bag of the year with four goals for the winners, along with four from Daniel Rakhlin.
“The Turtles started well and were very physical in a very hard first half of footy; we went back to playing the way we know and finished the game off well,” said Epping coach Brad Hollow.
Niall McDonagh returned for Old Eltham Collegians and was among the best. Reliable defender Daniel Hallett also impressed.
The Fitzroy Stars hosted Reservoir at Sir Douglas Nicholls Oval and set the tone for the game with a 5.4 to 2.0 first quarter on the way to a 46-point victory.
“I thought our defense was strong and it allowed us to attack really well; looking forward to the Mernda challenge this week,” said Fitzroy Stars coach Neville Jetta. Jetta was impressed with the development of Keadin Ronan and James Trajovski as inside mids, while Kain Proctor continued his outstanding season.
Jack Sandric once again stood tall for the Mustangs. Aaron Edwards booted seven majors to head to the top of the goalkicking ladder.
Kinglake welcomed Heidelberg West to Kinglake Memorial Oval. The Lakers were off target early but dominated the contest to win by 90 points. In doing so, they scored 121 points two games in a row.
“We are really happy with the win coming off a bye and it is pleasing to note we are starting to get a good spread of contributors across the whole group, said Kinglake coach Dave Florance. Florance praised the work of Rohan King, Bailey Robinson and Wil Graf.
“Kinglake was outstanding; we had 14 players with 30 games or less experience and didn’t respond to their pressure and press at all,” said Heidelberg West coach Dale Mayne.
It was a learning day for the Hawks who were missing Jarryd Coulson, Ben Keenan, Tyrrell Lui and Masaki Miki from the previous week’s game.
Mernda travelled to Lalor Reserve to take on Lalor and won by 83 points. More importantly, they climbed to fifth place with the win.
Helping the Demons get the all important four points were Jayden Bell and Christian Evans who chimed in with two goals.
Alex Finch has put together a good body of work for the Bloods this year and once again came to the fore.
Laurimar was a warm favourite in hosting Kilmore at Laurimar Reserve. The game didn’t go to script for three quarters, with the Blues leading at half time and trailing by a solitary point at the last change.
The Power clinched the game with the first five goals of the final term, before Kilmore chimed in with the last two to reduce the final margin to 22 points.
“I thought Kilmore were first to the footy and more disciplined than us in the first half; we were able to win a lot more of the ball in the second half and move the ball well,”” said Laurimar coach Jimmy Atkins. Joel Lawson and Josh Leather were best for the Power.
“The boys did all we asked on the day and our ball use was the best it has been; when playing a quality team like Laurimar, you can’t have lapses and, sadly, a ten-minute lapse cost us the game,” said Kilmore coach Paul Derrick.
In the absence of Chris Barton, Zack Ferguson and Jared Crosbie stood up for the Blues, while Mitch Portoglou received a big tick from Derrick for his work on star forward Patrick Fitzgerald. Kilmore now goes to the bye.
Little has changed up the top end of the table. The Fitzroy Stars have ten wins, Laurimar on nine, Epping with seven and both Kinglake and Mernda have six victories, Ivanhoe drops to sixth with five wins but has a game in hand on the Demons.
Round 12 action will help shape the ladder with some enticing matchups.
Reservoir takes on Old Eltham Collegians at Crispe Park. The game takes on extra significance due to their last encounter back in round 2 at Eltham College when the Turtles ran away in the second half to win by 36 points. Few tipsters were surprised at the time, but Old Eltham Collegians have lost eight in a row since then.
The Mustangs won three on the trot following that loss, but have now dropped their last five against the top five teams. In retrospect, that round 2 loss put them out of finals contention. They will search for revenge back on their home deck as they seek to finish off the year strongly.
Meanwhile, the Turtles showed something early last week against Epping and that form would give them a chance in this contest. Whoever wins, it will mark a welcome return to the winners list.
Epping takes on Lalor at Epping Recreational Reserve, aiming for six wins on the trot and consolidating their place in the top three. It’s a must-win game for the Blues who will be the hottest of favourites.
The Bloods were a little better last week and would like to use this game to build momentum into a trio of upcoming games against teams outside the top five.
Ivanhoe visits its nearest neighbour in Heidelberg West at Heidelberg Park with a chance to climb back into the top five with a win. This incentive should be a positive for the Hoers who are coming off the bye. A win would set them up beautifully for the upcoming home games against Kinglake and Mernda who currently sit fourth and fifth.
Despite being favourites in this clash, Wayne Schultz’s men may regard this as a danger game. While the Hawks were soundly beaten last week against Kinglake, their last match at this venue saw them lead the Stars late in the final term. A reproduction of that effort would give Dale Mayne’s men every chance of grabbing the four points.
Mernda takes on the Fitzroy Stars at Waterview Recreation Reserve. With the Stars unbeaten this season and with a percentage over 230, they will go into this match highly confident that their streak will remain intact.
But the Demons have the distinct home ground advantage and have won six of their last seven games. Add to that wins on this venue against the Stars in both matches since the Stars dropped back to Division 3. Finally, they may need to win to stay in the top five.
With the Stars wanting to maintain their break on Laurimar at the top of the table, a great game is likely.
Laurimar tussles with Kinglake at Laurimar Reserve in a crucial clash as far as ladder positions are concerned. The Power is one win behind the Stars and would love to secure the win against the Lakers and then have a chance to draw level with the Stars the following week, as well as keeping the gap between them and Epping who are two games further back.
The Lakers play all the other teams currently in the top five in the next five weeks with the Stars at home and the other three all away games. A win in one of these games may lock up a finals spot, but two would virtually make a certainty of it.
It will be a great test for the improving Lakers against a genuine premiership hopeful.
