Laurimar have returned to the top two on the Heidelberg Golf Club Division 3 ladder at the expense of Kinglake, who they defeated by 48 points in an impressive display at Laurimar Reserve.
Grabbing the lead early and never being headed thereafter, the local fans were thrilled to see the Power produce some slick ball movement and classy teamwork in the 17.9 (111) to 9.9 (63) result.
“Very proud of the way we moved the ball, our spread and pressure were very good,” Laurimar coach Jimmy Atkins said.
Atkins noted that captain Mitch Thompson has had a good last month and that today was his best game for the year. Thompson was important in kicking two goals in the first term when the game was on the line and he regularly managed to get his hands on the ball in plenty of space.
Noah Mooney as a forward target and Aidan Clarke in the ruck were also things that pleased the coach, with both these players hitting the scoreboard.
Jacson Cecil kicked three majors, the most he has kicked in a match since mid-June, while Kaiden Arthur played forward and also registered three goals.
As well as being good on the spread, the Power players shared the load better than their opponents, with good contributions from all 23 players.
Laurimar had the first use of a light breeze and broke away in the shadows of quarter time with four of the last five goals to lead by 20-points.
Similarly, in the middle stages of the second term, the hosts booted four of five goals to sail out to a 31-point lead.
Thomas Clarke was a stand-out performer for the Lakers and he stepped up with the last two goals of the half to keep his team in touch. The resultant 19-point deficit left his side close enough to make a charge at the main break.
Ethan Robinson, who spent most of the game up forward, booted the first goal of the third term, one of his two for the day, and with the margin back to 14-points, a tight tussle looked likely.
But the Power then went on a rampage, scoring five consecutive goals to virtually put the game away.
A late goal to Laker Krystopher Douglas, after applying a great tackle, left his team trailing by 37-points at the last change.
At the three-quarter time, Kinglake coach Andrew Fairchild was disappointed that his team fell away after looking good in the first five minutes of the term, but regardless, he urged his side to believe and to take the game on.
However, any hopes of a comeback were extinguished early into the final term, when Arthur kicked two majors on the back of passages of play worthy of the highlights reel.
The Lakers kept at it, with ruckman Clarke taking numerous good marks as a link player. But the Laurimar defence held firm and the visitors could only manage a single goal in the last quarter.
Their inability to limit the damage when the Power had control proved to be the difference in the end.
“We were beaten by a good footy side today, we’ll aim to bounce back next week and hope to have another crack at them in the finals,” Andrew Fairchild said.
The Lakers coach said that his team didn’t have too many winners on the day, however, as well as the outstanding efforts by Clarke, Jed Tyrrell received some praise as a high half forward, while Bailey Robinson continued his stellar season.
Kinglake slipped to third spot on the ladder with the loss and look set to head to a first semi-final. They can still mathematically grab the double chance if they win their last remaining game next week and other results go their way.
