By Mark Gullick
CRANBOURNE handed neighbourly rivals Devon Meadows a football lesson with a 139-point thrashing at EG Allen Oval on Saturday.
The Eagles kicked five goals to nil in the opening term to establish early scoreboard dominance and the shell-shocked Panthers never recovered as they conceded a procession of goals.
Cranbourne kicked 23 goals while restricting its opponent to just 20 points – the lowest total kicked this season.
“The scoreboard indicates that we won pretty easily and that was pretty much the way it went,” Cranbourne coach Doug Koop said. “We were up against a side that has lost four or five of its better players – it just cut them to the bone unfortunately.”
The goalkicking spree showed Cranbourne’s ruthlessness against a team that is struggling.
“When you’re in that situation, you try and play the best football you can,” Koop said. “They were competitive, but they just lack the quality of players to put it together. They couldn’t get the ball into their forward line enough.
“We try and play a certain style of footy, which we didn’t quite get to, but to win by 23 goals, it’s hard to be critical of our players.”
While it was another complete team performance by Cranbourne, there were plenty of strong individual performances.
Ryan Davey and Justin Berry (five goals) were prominent in the midfield and Robert Beadel provided plenty of drive from half-back.
Luke Martin, Damian Whitnall and Andre Young played well and Marc Holt kicked six goals to capture the lead in the goal-kicking award.
For Devon Meadows, Taylor Kemp, Michael Bain, Patrick Harms and ex-Cranbourne player Brandon Wapshott tried hard.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:Beaconsfield v Narre Warren
NARRE Warren claimed a two-point win after a dramatic finish at Perc Allison Oval.
The Magpies held a seemingly match-winning 26-point lead at three-quarter-time but Beaconsfield, through promising wiry youngster Jake Cameron, fought back.
A clever snap goal by Kris Fletcher followed by two quick Cameron goals left the Eagles eight points in arrears.
Beaconsfield captain Daniel Mislicki claimed a mark, but his long shot faded and fell short. It was nearly marked by Cameron before sliding through for a behind.
Moments later, Beaconsfield caused a turnover and a Mislicki goal put the Eagles ahead by five points.
Beaconsfield had the momentum and the ball was constantly in its forward half. The Narre Warren defenders held out gamely, but the general consensus was that it would eventually fold and Beaconsfield would pile on the goals.
However, a Magpies counter-attack brought the ball into their forward line where Ben Wragg marked on the flank, 40 metres from goal.
After a quick survey of options, Wragg decided to have a shot, and with brilliant skill he kicked truly, wrestling the lead back for Narre Warren.
The Magpies attacked and Josh Tonna marked, but his shot drifted left for a point, leaving Beaconsfield two points behind.
The Eagles brought the ball forward and Cameron nearly completed a sliding mark close to goal, but the ball slipped out and Narre Warren cleared it and held on to win.
The opening half was a dour affair thanks to the continual pressure around the packs. There were few easy possessions with every kick and mark hotly contested.
A four-goal burst by Narre Warren broke open the game in the third term before Beaconsfield staged a thrilling come-back in the final quarter.
“There’s a fair bit of resolve (among the players),” Narre Warren coach Chris Toner said. “They might only be young and the rest of it, but they’ve got character and they really work hard for the footy club – it’s not just themselves.
“The last two weeks have been really good for us, in terms of character building.”
Without the injured Nick Scanlon, Lee Boyle and Brett Evans – and Brendan Fevola’s unavailability because of his VFL duties – Narre Warren’s forwards consisted of rotating and resting players.
“We’re probably a little bit down on key personnel, but to get through has been terrific,” Toner said. “I think there were about six or seven that didn’t play. We were just really over the moon to get the four points.
“As the coach, I couldn’t have been more proud of them. Every player contributed and they gave everything. When we got headed and they hit the front, you could tell the boys weren’t keen to roll over. For most of the game we were in front, so it would have been disappointing to lose.”
Colin McNamara, Aaron McIver and Michael McGill supplied crucial leadership for the Magpies, while Chris Collins and Matt Lee in defence played well.
Damian Collins tagged the dangerous Mislicki and performed the difficult role with aplomb.
Wragg kicked three goals, including the matchwinner, for the Magpies.
“All his goals were from really tight angles,” Toner said. “I was really happy for him. He’s starting to play some really good footy.”
Beaconsfield’s youngsters were prominent. Ji Veltmeyer, Jayden Gee, Nick Smith and Jake Cameron (four goals) played with class and composure above their tender years.
Beaconsfield unveiled its latest recruit, Ryan Gale from Airport West, and the former Northern Bullant impressed his new team. He has good size, covers the ground well and kicked two goals.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:Hampton Park v Berwick
HAMPTON Park dealt the red-hot Berwick a 33-point win at Robert Booth Reserve.
With Berwick coming off a blistering win over Beaconsfield and Hampton Park succumbing to Doveton last round, the Wickers went into the match as warm favourites.
However, disaster struck for Berwick before the match began when Patrick Sear, touted as a stand-in for Kevin McLean, suddenly collapsed with an Achilles injury during the warm-up in the minutes leading up to the game.
Hampton Park dominated, kicking six goals to two in the opening term over a shocked Berwick.
McLean was brilliant, booting three goals and handing off another one. He kicked five goals for the game and was the best forward on the field.
The Redbacks led by 37 points at half-time and had firm control of the match.
Berwick outscored the home team in the second half – with six goals to five – but the contest was well and truly decided by that time.
“It was a good win, especially after last week,” Hampton Park coach Clint Evans said. “We pretty much had to win because if we lost, then we’d be fighting for a finals spot. We were very disciplined in the way we played. Our first quarter and a half was fantastic.”
With a growing injury list, Evans was forced to make several exotic moves.
“We changed it around,” he said. “We had Kain Baskaya on the half-back line. In the third quarter, we lost our fullback (Jamie Rondinella) and centre-half-back (Scott Eastwood) for the game, and Matt Shorey went down, so we had one on the bench for the last quarter and a half. To win like that was very brave and gutsy.”
Hampton Park’s forward line of McLean, Kerem Baskaya and Matthew Shorey provided plenty of headaches, especially in the first half.
“Before the game we said that the number one thing was contested football, and also our forward pressure,” he said. “Last week against Doveton it was just terrible. They got it out of half-back very easily. I thought against Berwick all our forwards were very disciplined in the way they went about it.”
The win provided a bonus for Evans, who got one over his former club.
“It’s always good going up against your old side and having a win,” he said. “To their credit, they kept coming.
“They’ve got a lot of young guys and on a big ground if you give them space, they’ll tear you up. They did that a few times to us. We knew that if we gave them a bit of room they would cut us up, but our pressure was fantastic.”
Linden Fredericks and Craig Lombard supplied plenty of drive for Hampton Park, while Nathan Dawes, Brett Armitage and Dean Jamieson were steady contributors in the impressive win.
“It’s a historical thing with Berwick going to places like Hampton Park and the mindset is perhaps negative and get intimidated,” Wickers coach Dean Rice said.
“We gave them a five-goal headstart and we ended up losing by five goals, it was very similar to what happened at Pakenham (in round three).
“I made it clear before the game about that, and that Hampton Park would be up for the game. (Hampton Park) wanted to play on their terms in the first half and we did.
“For whatever reason, the players had the mindset of being second to the footy and we’ve got to live with that.”
Berwick’s off-performance was a letdown for the massive turnout that anticipated a closer contest.
“They’re not a bad team and they were up for the game,” Rice said. “We were about 5-10 per cent off and we just couldn’t get into the game or get hold of the ball. They were first in for the ball.
“After half-time, we were a lot better, but we lost the game in the first quarter. We got within three goals at different stages of the third and final quarter, but we gave them an eight-goal start.”
Berwick’s best players were Jason Rahilly, Brad Fowler through the midfield and ruckman Steve Finlayson.
Jake McLardy, Paul van Schilt and defender David van Diemen were serviceable.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:Keysborough v Pakenham
PAKENHAM shook off a dogged Keysborough by 46 points at Rowley Allen Reserve. Although trailing all day, the home side matched Pakenham for extended periods in the game, but the Lions’ scoreboard pressure ensured that they held the advantage.
“(The scoreboard) wasn’t a reflection of what the game was like,” Pakenham coach Michael Holland said. “We had only one or two more inside-50s than they did.
“We had some patches, probably in the second quarter, where we started to play some good football. We kicked away and that was the difference. They’re not a bad side, especially at home.”
It was a solid win considering the Lions haven’t played for three weeks.
“To go down there and get a win was good,” Holland said. “I think we’ll improve now that we’ve got some continuity to our season.
“Before the break we played some really good football where we troubled some sides, but then we dropped away pretty bad, and that’s something we’ve got to continue to work on.”
Pakenham is still searching for its best line-up.
“We threw around a few blokes to try and get the right combination,” he said. “We gave another kid a go for his first game and we’ll continue to do that until we find the right options.”
Pakenham’s midfield was superb with Robert Elston and Luke Walker prominent around the ground.
Michael Hicks, Paul Gramc, Kym Jones and Russell Lehman played well.
“We had our chances in the first quarter and ended up kicking 2.6,” Keysborough coach Brad Canavan said.
“We probably should have kicked 6.2 and our fortunes would have been different. They only got away from us in the last 20 minutes of the second quarter, where they put four or five goals on us.
“The third quarter was just a nothing quarter and then first 20 minutes of the last quarter, I thought ‘here, we go,’ and we kicked three or four quick ones and then we had an unfortunate turnover in the midfield.”
One incident proved costly for the Burras.
“The ball hit the cricket pitch and bounced back over Geoff Humphreys’ head and went sideways, and they went bang, bang, bang, goal,” Canavan said. “They kicked two goals in two minutes which snuffed us out.”
According to Canavan, lack of consistency is holding Keysborough back.
“That’s what happens when you can’t put four quarters together,” he said. “We’ve got too many guys that drift in and out of the game mentally. I know it’s a cliche, but we’re having a crack.
“We just need a bit more polish, and a bit more poise. I had a chat to ‘Jock’ Holland after the game – he said they were pretty nervous coming here to play us, which is a good sign.”
Keysborough was served by Tyson King and Michael Downie.
“Tyson King was ridiculous, outrageously good,” Canavan said. “He and Michael Downie are our co-vice captains and they’ve just been our best two players all year. Michael Downie has come from being a dour little back-pocket into what I would regard as a top-line midfielder. His work-rate is outstanding.
“We try and play (Tyson King) forward so he can take marks and kick goals for us, but we need him to go into the midfield for us. If we had Greg Walker still at the club, Tyson King would be going better. Tyson is playing the role that Greg played last year.
“(When) you lose players like Walker, Dean Gentle and Matt Freeman, you suddenly realise how valuable they are to the club. We didn’t look after ‘Walks’ or Dean Gentle as best we could have, in terms of pay.
“The playing group knows it, when Greg Walker is out there, they walk taller and the competition takes notice. His importance to the Keysy footy club was under-estimated unfortunately.”
Other contributors were back flanker David Pribb, Mark Osbourne, Cory Hargreaves and Darcy McDonald.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:Tooradin-Dalmore v Doveton
DOVETON claimed a 34-point win over Tooradin-Dalmore at the Tooradin Recreation Reserve.
The Doves fought off several spirited challenges from the home side, but had enough class to record a solid win.
Doveton kicked six goals to three in the opening term, but led by only one point at the long break.
The Seagulls lifted in the second term, but couldn’t maintain their standards.
Doveton kicked 10 goals to four after half-time.
“It was a hard-fought contest, it was only after half-time that we kicked away,” Doveton coach Mark Ladgrove said. “The boys are really starting to develop some spirit and we’re quite pleased with them.”
A change of tactics after half-time paved the way for more Doveton goals.
“I thought we had the majority of the play, but (Adam) Splatt played a really good game for them in the backline and we played into his hands for the first half,” Ladgrove said.
“After then we tried different avenues to take Splatt out of it and it worked for us.”
Ladgrove said his team garnered inspiration from the injury to veteran Brad Downe.
“He’s been a leading light for us all year and the guys really responded,” he said. “It was put to them, and the guys wanted to get behind him and take this one home and they all stood up.”
Ryan Hendy kicked four goals, as did Harley Primrose, who came into the team from the reserves.
“(Primrose) played seniors last year,” Ladgrove said. “He had an interrupted pre-season with work commitments, but he’s strung together some good games in the twos. We brought him in and he really stood up.”
Clint Wilson has claims for the best ruckman in the league at the moment and the big man put in another influential performance.
Ryan Pearson and Matthew Miller worked hard in the midfield, while defender Michael Rodriquez and Mitch Woolgar played well.
Tooradin-Dalmore coach Beau Miller was disappointed with the loss, but pleased with his players’ efforts.
“Going into the game, it wasn’t about the scoreboard for us,” he said. “We just wanted to break it down and get back to more of a ‘beating your opponent’ mentality.
“The boys obviously didn’t get the four points, but I certainly think our contested ball, and our hardness and our desire to work for each other was really good.
“There were some things we lacked in previous games that were brought out in the game. I’m disappointed we didn’t get the win, but they’re a good side.”
Although the final result showed a comprehensive loss, Miller believes it was closer in reality.
“We were still in it at three-quarter-time,” he said. “It was a good entertaining game, played in good spirit. There was plenty of hard, contested ball.
“We need to find a way to win. I’m quite pleased with the effort the boys are putting in, but at the end of the day, you look at the win-loss record and that’s all that counts.”
Matt Davey kicked seven goals in his second game back from injury.
“He’s running into a little bit of fitness and form,” Miller said. “He hasn’t been able to train prior to the ROC game. He has a habit of doing that; he kicks more than you think.”
Another strong contributor was Rory Gilliatte. “We primarily play him in the forward line, just to get his fitness base up a little bit,” he said. “One-on-one, he’s really hard to beat. He’s strong and big-bodied. If you give him space and time, he’s pretty deadly with his skills.”
