By Marcus Uhe
A dominant second quarter from Rowville has lifted the Hawks into second place, having dislodged opponents East Ringwood by 35 points.
Ben Wise’s side slammed on 6.5 to the Kangaroos’ one behind in the second period, the clear difference in an otherwise even contest between Eastern Football Netball League heavyweights…that quarter aside, East Ringwood gets the chocolates by five points.
Of significance for the Hawks was the lack of scoreboard impact from Lachlan Wynd.
The imposing key forward was held goalless, and lost his place at the top of the leading goalkickers list as a result, yet his side still managed to record a victory of such significance.
Instead, it was Kurtis Flakemore (four goals) Zac Greeves and Max Martini (three each) who did the majority of the scoring.
Nashua Wood, Lachlan Stapleton and Anthony Brolic were all among the best for Rowville, who fell to the Kangaroos at home back in May.
It takes the Hawks to eight wins in its last nine contests and franks their credentials as a legitimate premiership threat, in their quest to go one-better than they did in 2022.
With four fixtures remaining against sides battling for a spot in the top six, including rivals Noble Park, there should be every confidence in the brown and gold that they can overtake Vermont in top spot, who have a more difficult run home with games against three of the current top six.
Vermont, Doncaster East and Balwyn all took care of business in their respective contests to ensure the logjam chasing Vermont remains tight.
Three sides, in Rowville, Balwyn and East Ringwood, are tied for 40 points on second, third and fourth, respectively.
Results R14: Noble Park 6.12 48 def by Berwick 9.8 62, East Ringwood 8.13 61 def by Rowville 14.12 96, Blackburn 8.11 59 def by Park Orchards 13.8 86, Norwood 8.10 58 def by 14.10 94, Vermont 33.14 212 def Doncaster 5.5 35, Doncaster East 17.8 110 def South Croydon 10.11 71.
Ladder: Vermont 44, Rowville 40, Balwyn 40, East Ringwood 40, Doncaster East 36, Noble Park 32, Blackburn 28, Berwick 24, Norwood 20, Park Orchards 16, South Croydon 12, Doncaster 4.
Fixture R15: Berwick v Balwyn, South Croydon v Rowville, Noble Park v Park Orchards, Doncaster v Blackburn, Vermont v East Ringwood, Doncaster East v Norwood.
