By David Nagel and Jonty Ralphsmith
SOUTHERN
As September draws near, the gap between the contenders and the rest is starting to shine as bright as the impending spring sunshine in both the Division 3 and Division 4 competitions.
Top-placed Endeavour Hills entered the round with a reasonable percentage gap atop the ladder and smashed Ashwood by 93 points.
Yet, the Falcons finish the round having been displaced from top spot, Frankston’s 221-point demolition of Narre South causing them to usurp Matt Peake’s men.
The order of one and two is immaterial given the neutral venues and structure of finals, and the two top teams look all but certain to lock horns in the big dance.
Endeavour Hills is returning to form at the right time and had their goal kicking boots on at Barry Simon Reserve, kicking 24.5 for the day including nine straight in the first quarter.
It was the depth of the home team that stood out, with 12 players hitting the scoreboard and the players who ran through the midfield all able to get a clean handle on the ball.
On a tough day for Narre South, it was Aaron Coggins and Ethan Schubert who gave the best account of themselves.
In Division 4, Lyndale managed only one goal against a rampant South Mornington, which bounced back from a scare last week against Dandenong.
The Redlegs continued their hot form by smashing Doveton Eagles by 171 points.
Full forward Brandon Nolan cashed in with 15 goals to shoot up to within six goals of competition goal scoring leader Anthony Giuliano.
“He’s powerful, he’s a big boy and he’s a good guy,” said coach Michael Lawrence.
“It’s not just about him. He looks for the best options but he’s getting better every week, taking big grabs in good spots and if we hit him early enough in one on ones, he’s very strong.
“He’ll be good in finals, and is experienced in higher divisions so his experience is great.”
A Hampton loss to Moorabbin on Saturday has set up this weekend’s Dandenong v Hampton clash as effectively a shootout for second spot.
The return of impact player and vice captain Dylan Diacono has been massive after a broken arm, and he’s among a glut of returnees which has Dandenong primed for the pointy end.
Lawrence said the narrow loss for Dandenong last week against top-placed South Mornington proved how far they had come.
The Redlegs kicked seven of the first eight goals before taking the foot off the accelerator and being made to pay.
“We wanted to play free flowing, fearless footy,” Lawrence said.
“Everyone’s after (South Mornington) at the top and we just wanted to have a good crack, and it was probably in the mindset after we got ahead.
“They got us in the last quarter. We took more out of that game than just the loss.”
This season will be the first time in a decade the team has made finals, with the rejuvenation bearing fruit early and looking like a sustainable way forward.
Among the standouts have been defender Lenny Van Schaik, skipper and versatile hard nut Zach Cookson, big inside midfielder Jarrod Bergwerf, ruck Jarrah Campbell, the experienced Jackson Nolan, winger Josh Lawrence and young key Riley Lawrence.
“The last two years, particularly now, we are sticking to structure and game plan and it has come at the right time,” Lawrence added.
“We’re not fearful of other teams now.
“We can’t wait to take on the top four.”
Division 3
Results: Endeavour Hills 24.5 149 v Ashwood 7.4 56, Heatherton 7.2 44 v Carrum Patterson Lakes 12.17 89, Clayton 8.5 53 v Lyndhurst 16.12 108, Frankston Dolphins 34.23 227 v Narre South 0.6 6
Ladder: Frankston Dolphins 56, Endeavour Hills 56, Carrum Patterson Lakes 40, Ashwood 36, Lyndhurst 32Heatherton 28, Narre South 8, Clayton 0
Fixture: Heatherton v Frankston Dolphins, Carrum Patterson Lakes v Ashwood, Narre South Saints v Clayton, Lyndhurst v Endeavour Hills
Division 4
Results: South Mornington 19.19 133 v Lyndale 1.2 8, Doveton Eagles 3.2 20 v Dandenong 30.11 191, Moorabbin 18.10 118 v Hampton 10.9 69
Ladder: South Mornington 56, Moorabbin 40, Dandenong 36, Hampton 36, Lyndale 12, Doveton Eagles 12
Fixture: Moorabbin v Lyndale, Dandenong v Hampton, Doveton Eagles v South Mornington
MORNINGTON PENINSULA
A consistent performance for Devon Meadows across four quarters proved far too strong for lowly Crib Point as they cruised to an 84-point win.
Nick Battle and Dean Kent did as they pleased in the midfield, while Alex Canal continues to come of age in a Panthers lineup well positioned for a deep September run.
Ryan Hendy’s men will start this week, the last of the home and away season, as warm favourites against Tyabb, but there remains pressure on the result.
Somerville and Pearcedale are both within striking distances and also have winnable matchups this week, while Edi-Asp is also hot on Devon Meadows’ heels.
Results: Chelsea 11.20 86 v Mornington 22.19 151, Devon Meadows 15.17 107 v Crib Point 3.5 23, Edi-Asp 20.22 142 v Hastings 10.4 64, Karingal 15.12 102 v Tyabb 8.10 58, Pearcedale 25.21 171 v Rye 12.8 80, Somerville 24.16 160 v Seaford 4.5 29
Ladder: Mornington 54, Karingal 54, Devon Meadows 46, Somerville 44, Edi-Asp 40, Pearcedale 40, Chelsea 36, Hastings 30, Tyabb 24, Crib Point 20, Seaford 20, Rye 0
Fixture: Hastings v Chelsea, Crib Point v Karingal, Tyabb v Devon Meadows, Seaford v Pearcedale, Rye v Somerville, Mornington v Edi-Asp
ELLINBANK AND DISTRICT
Trafalgar is just one giant step away from capturing a double-chance in this year’s Ellinbank and District finals series after a 14-point victory over reigning champions Neerim South on Saturday.
The Bloods headed to Neerim needing to win to leap-frog the Cats into third position, and did just that after breaking a three-quarter arm-wrestle with a five-goal-to-three final term.
Dylan Farrell and Mitch Virtue were sensational for the Bloods, while three goals each to Brayde Bosman, Mathew Devon and Blake Radford certainly puts the Cats amongst the pigeons.
The Bloods now face another huge challenge, hosting second-placed Ellinbank this week, with victory almost guaranteeing them a top-three starting position in September.
Neerim South skipper Kody Wilson was sensational for the Cats with four goals in a losing cause.
Lang Lang continues to hold on to its tenuous grip on fifth place on the ladder after the Tigers proved way too strong for Poowong.
The Tigers eventually won by 52 points, but the contest was effectively dead-and-buried at half time after the visitors took a 41-point lead to the main break.
Chaise Jordan kicked three, and Josh Brown and Brad Ventura two each for the Tiges, who need to win one of their last two to be any chance of playing finals.
That’s no easy task however, with Neerim South and Ellinbank looming large on the horizon.
Despite its loss on the weekend, Poowong will still fancy its chances of playing finals…with Yarragon and Nilma-Darnum to round out its season.
In other games this week, top-team Buln Buln had 55 shots at goal as the Lyrebirds pumped bottom-placed Nilma-Darnum by 195 points at Buln Buln.
The list of goal-kickers was impressive, with Hayden Baker kicking eight, Bob McCallum six, Reece Campbell five and Nathan Tutton snagging four majors for the afternoon.
The Lyrebirds kicked 10 goals in the third quarter to rubber-stamp their dominance.
Malcolm Hunter kicked two goals for the Bombers.
Ellinbank has maintained second place on the ladder after Shaun Phelan kicked seven goals in the Eagles 67-point victory over Longwarry.
The Crows were competitive in the third quarter, losing it by a point, but were otherwise outplayed.
Andrew Quirk joined Phelan at the top of the Eagles’ best-players’ list, while Jedd Serong was dangerous up forward with three goals for the Crows.
And Nyora has broken a seven-game losing streak with 22-point win over Yarragon.
The Saints were just five points in front at the final change, but rattled on five goals to two in the fourth quarter to race away with victory.
Nick Anderson, four, Scott Pugh, three, and Jono Hewitt, two, did most of the damage for the Saints, while Corey Binzer and Mitch Jolley kept the Panthers in the hunt with two goals apiece.
Catani had the round-18 bye.
Ellinbank Results R18: Poowong 4.5.29 def by Lang Lang 11.15.81, Neerim South 10.10.70 def by Trafalgar 13.6.84, Ellinbank 15.22.112 def Longwarry 7.3.45, Nyora 13.8.86 def Yarragon 9.10.64, Buln Buln 33.22.220 def Nilma Darnum 4.1.25. Catani – Bye.
Ladder: Buln Buln 64, Ellinbank 52, Trafalgar 48, Neerim South 46, Lang Lang 36, Poowong 32, Longwarry 24, Yarragon 22, Catani 16, Nyora 16, Nilma Darnum 0.
Fixture R19: Lang Lang (5) v Neerim South (4), Trafalgar (3) v Ellinbank (2), Yarragon (8) v Poowong (6), Nilma-Darnum (11) v Nyora (10), Catani (9) v Buln Buln (1). Longwarry – Bye.
