By Marcus Uhe
The toast of last year’s Eastern Football Netball League have yet to hit their straps in 2023, both finding themselves in the dreaded midtable cluster after the first five rounds of the new season.
At Rowville, another bag of five goals from Lachlan Wynd weren’t enough to help the Hawks knock off the ladder-leading East Ringwood, who snuck home by six points.
Rowville had trouble scoring at the Tennis club end of Seebeck Oval, kicking only one goal in the opening quarter and none in the all-important third.
They trailed at every break, but never by more than 12 points, at quarter time, meaning they were always in the contest with the ladder leaders.
Trailing by 10 points at the final break, the first goal of the quarter was going to go a long way in determining the outcome of the contest, and it went the Kangaroos’ way in the ninth minute for a 16-point buffer.
Wynd kicked his fourth and fifth in the final term, using his height to his advantage on both occasions to earn free-kicks from deep in the attacking 50.
He kicked truly from a short distance from goal on both occasions, but his second proved to be the final kick of the game, with the siren sounding as the officials ferried the ball back to the centre for the restart, as the scoreboard finished 7.5 47 to 7.11 53.
Midfielder Matthew Martini will no-doubt rue a missed snap from the top of the goal-square that would have cut the lead from 12 to six with five minutes remaining, while Kane Young’s brilliant rundown tackle saw him nearly miss the goalposts entirely as it just snuck in for a point from a tight angle.
Wynd, meanwhile, brings his season tally to 20 after four games, with remarkable consistency of five, six, four and five in the four outings to date.
The 21-year-old key forward has been invaluable for Ben Wise when not required for the Box Hill Hawks at VFL level, and shapes as a name to watch ahead of the upcoming AFL mid-season draft.
The loss brings to an end their two-game win streak, nestling them firmly in the middle of the pack in eighth.
Noble Park suffered a shock second-consecutive loss at the bullring, this time falling to Norwood in a one-point thriller.
Goals were hard to come by all day for both sides, and the final quarter was no exception, with only two kicked, one each way.
Matthew Nelson broke the 19-minute scoring deadlock in what was a tense beginning to the final term, applying his trademark forward pressure to run-down a Norwood defender from behind, and calmly slot the resulting set shot.
It was his third major of the afternoon and injected some life into the Bulls side, but it most importantly opened a six-point lead for the home team, keen to make-amends after losing to Doncaster East at home last week.
The ascendency, however, was only brief.
Norwood very nearly tied the scores immediately, if not for a pressured snap going the wrong side of the goalpost from the following centre clearance, but it would come to be the old “handy point”.
After reaping the benefits from Nelson’s tackling pressure within striking distance of their goals just a few minutes earlier, Ben Marson felt the shoe on the other foot, as he was wrapped up while looking to feed a handball and create a goal-scoring opportunity for a teammate.
Norwood took the advantage from the free-kick and within seconds were shooting for goal from the arc of 50.
While the kick didn’t quite carry the journey, Ryan Morrison came up second best in a footrace with his opponent, who scrambled a toe-poke over the goal-line to make certain of the shot, and retake the lead.
In a low-scoring contest, that was the last time the goal umpires at either end would be called upon, as the remaining three minutes saw the scoreboard remain undisturbed.
It was not the way the club would have liked to honour Jackson Sketcher, their new skipper for 2023 who was celebrating his 100th game for the club.
With 18 scoring shots (7.11) to 14 (8.6) and leading at the first two breaks, it was certainly a missed opportunity to secure four points.
Instead, they join a crop of four teams on 3-2, and only possessing a slightly higher than average percentage.
Balwyn, in third on 4-1, sit 32 percentage points higher than Steve Hughes’ men, meaning they’ll have serious work to do as the season continues in their quest to go back-to-back.
Berwick, meanwhile, has slumped to four losses in a row, thrashed by East Doncaster on the Lions’ home patch by 52 points.
The Wickers held a slight lead at quarter time, hitting the first huddle with a two-point advantage over their highly-touted opponents.
Goals to Kyle O’Sullivan, Jonty Andrew and Joshua Burgess meant their fight around the ground was matched on the scoreboard in fast conditions at Zerbes Reserve.
A miscommunication between O’Sullivan and Ashton Williamson saw them blow an opportunity to kick their fourth late in the quarter, as Wiliamson’s creativity brought an open goal unstuck, attempting to tap a ball back over his head to his teammate who was not prepared for the ingenuity.
They would kick four majors for the remainder of the contest, however, while conceding 11 the other way.
East Doncaster’s inaccuracy (14.16) saved the contest from being a complete drubbing, as their former AFL-listed players showed their class.
Tom Bell kicked five, while former Docker Taylin Duman was named as their best player for the afternoon.
Following his haul of four last week, Berwick ruck/forward Charlie Muley kicked three in another lone-hand in the Berwick forward line, which desperately lacks firepower.
Travis Tuck made a positive return to Clint Evans’ lineup, having not played since their round one win over Vermont, while Jesse Cirulis continues to impress in his return from a serious knee injury in 2022, notably physical at ground level post-contest.
The loss sees them sit 10th with one win from five games, only percentage ahead of Doncaster in the dreaded drop-zone.
Their quest for a second victory won’t get any easier when they host Rowville at Edwin Flack.
