Panton Hill looks to have its second consecutive minor premiership locked away after a big win over Thomastown at Ben Frilay Oval in Round 14.
The Redbacks now sit two games and percentage ahead of Watsonia and the Bears on the Division 3 ladder with five rounds to play.
After a tight opening, they broke the game open with a seven-goal to two second quarter.
Ben Finnin was the star in that term – kicking four of his eight goals. He booted two goals without the ball returning to the centre after an incident which saw Daniel Chadwick red carded.
Finnin took two spectacular marks just before half time. He goaled from the first, but the latter was taken from him after teammate Zac Williams received a free kick instead.
The Redbacks won every quarter and regularly scored from Thomastown turnovers.
When they moved the ball out of defence, they were often able to spot up targets with short kicks and then go over the Thomastown defensive setup.
Their field kicking was of a high standard and leading the way was defender Joffa Byron. The 2012 leading goal kicker even got on the end of a long Kane Gilmore handpass to bomb a goal from outside 50m.
Also brilliant down back was Jeremy Gercovich with safe defensive punching.
Both of Panton Hill’s games against the Bears this season were after a bye. In the Round 7 clash, it was far from its best, but it was a different case this time around according to coach Dean Haydock
“Last time we played Thomastown, we didn’t come to play (and) good sides will make you pay for that,” Haydock said, before going on to state he was pleased his side was really switched on this time around.
Haydock would have also been delighted with the overall even contribution of his team. Virtually every player made some significant contribution to the win.
Bears’ coach Steve Krstevski conceded his team was now “back in the pack as far as chasing second spot is concerned”. In fact, Watsonia climbed to second without even playing after Thomastown’s percentage took a hit.
Krstevski noted that the next month would define how much his team wanted second spot. The Round 17 clash with Watsonia may well decide who gets the double chance in the finals.
He named ruckman Michael Manley as his side’s best on the day. Manley rucked on his own almost all day and took numerous contested marks around the ground.
Zeb Fleming, starved of opportunities at full forward, briefly relieved Manley in the ruck late in the game, with Steven Cadby used in defence. He began on Zac Williams and later moved on to Finnin.
Krstevski made numerous other moves, including Jacob Osei-Duro to the wing. But nothing really worked for the Bears.
They struggled up forward all day, with Nathan Stavridis and Shannon Ball kicking two goals from limited opportunities. The usually accurate Michael Khoury missed several set shots he would normally convert.
Matthew Cupo excelled at getting the ball from heavy traffic out to players in space, while James Mercuri’s kicking skills were on display – including a long bomb goal in the second stanza.
Panton Hill hosts Parkside at Ben Frilay Oval next week, while Thomastown has the bye.
Final score: Panton Hill 18.15 (123) def Thomastown 9.11 (65)
