By Dylan Beaumont
Berwick Springs has clawed back from a game high 25-point deficit in the third quarter to defeat St Kilda City in a thrilling Southern Division 3 contest at Mick Morland Reserve.
The thrilling finish culminated with Berwick Springs snaring three goals in the final five minutes of play to pinch the unlikeliest of victories…11.18(84) to 12.9(81).
At the 25-minute mark of the last quarter Ty Ellison goaled to reduce the margin to nine; quickly followed by a Kayden Buselli goal just 90 seconds later.
In the final 30 seconds of the match, Ellison clunked a mark forward which wasn’t paid.
He then turned around, quickly snapped a shot from 25 metres out which went through the middle. After one last thrust forward for St Kilda City, Titans’ captain Brent Urwin flew to mark the football and the siren blew shortly after.
It was the Titans first lead since 8-7 in the first 10 minutes of the game.
Ellison maintained his superb form with four goals while Seth Wilson, Michael Misso and Thomas Stiglich were fantastic for the winners.
St Kilda City was steered by four goals to Will Hollands while Ethan Whish-Wilson chipped in with three.
Ben Potter and Max Lewis gave it their all for the visitors, who dropped to third on the ladder following their first loss.
The only other undefeated team remaining in the competition, Carrum Patterson Lakes, foiled Lyndhurst’s plan of any sort of upset with a 74-point win, 22.9(141) to 9.13(67).
Taking 16 minutes to kick their first score of the game, the home side then constructed eight goals in the second quarter.
The Lions were in cruise control after halftime, adding another 10 goals to their tally.
Spearhead Matthew Baxter had a season high bag of five goals, while Terence Patten, Brad Seasons and Alex Wilson all followed suit with three goals each.
Harrison Scott and Ryan McMahon were strong around the ground.
For Lyndhurst, Jack Hazendonk starred as always, slotting four of his side’s nine goals.
Dale Donkin kicked three goals while Jamie Connor and Liam Rogan were prominent.
Lyndhurst has now descended to the bottom of the ladder, the only team yet to register a win for the season.
South Mornington fans were capering around Citation Oval when the final siren signified their second consecutive win, 9.8(62) to 7.5(47) over Heatherton.
The Tigers trailed by a single point at quarter time, half time and three quarter time, until slamming their foot on the accelerator in the last quarter, kicking three goals straight to two behinds.
Chris Baker gave his side the lead at the six minute mark before Jackson Weyne and Broden Bird put the game away for good.
Travis French kicked four goals for the victors, following his goal kicking prowess from last season where he managed 64 goals in 18 games.
Heatherton has now dropped three straight games, moving to 1-3.
Hampton’s inaccurate kicking was overshadowed by Ashwood, who kicked 5.12(42) to Hampton’s 11.12(78).
A quick first quarter burst gave the Hammers a 16-point lead at quarter time and they never looked back.
Holding a game high 43-point lead in the fourth quarter, Madden Griffin kicked his final goal out of three for the day to take his seasonal tally to 12 through four matches.
Daniel Jones also had three majors for the winners, while Levi Robinson doubled up with two.
Scout Greenhalgh and Sam Poort were strong around the ground.
For Ashwood, Nicholas Lowrie was the only multiple goalkicker with two, while Mitch Wilkinson played well alongside Joshua Hocking and Francis Palleschi.
Black Rock broke through for its second win of the season, snapping a two game losing streak against Skye in a 31-point win.
The home side held their opponents at arm’s length all game, skipping to a 20-point lead at quarter time.
Despite various comeback attempts, Black Rock kicked truly when required, especially in the fourth quarter.
Standout goalkicker Aaron Cloke slotted another four majors, which he has had in three of his four matches to begin the season.
Cloke is on track to kick his 1000th recorded goal next week after 288 games.
Besides Cloke, Cameron Waters kicked three goals, while Stewart Mathieson, Mitchell Pondard and Ricky Wait stuffed the stat sheet with two goals each.
Lachlan Neil and Jayden Bradbury were also prominent for Black Rock.
Skye’s Shane Long tried his darnedest to will his side over the line, having three majors.
Michael Boland and the McConville’s (Nathan and Joel) were fantastic for Skye.
ROUND 5 PREVIEW
Round five is headlined by Berwick Springs’ desire for a 5-0 start to the season when they face Ashwood on the road.
While sitting second on the ladder, Berwick Springs maintain a percentage of 139.01, the third highest in the league.
They’ll be aiming to change this statistic and to do so will have to shut down Nicholas Lowrie, who is averaging multiple goals a game.
The only other undefeated side in the form of Carrum Patterson Lakes will take on the grand finalists from last season, South Mornington.
Sitting atop the table, Carrum Patterson Lakes has an average winning margin of 48.25 through four weeks, including their 74-point victory last week.
South Mornington has begun to compile quality form, stringing back-to-back wins against Heatherton and Ashwood together.
Lyndhurst won’t back away from the challenge, hoping to break their winless start to the year at home against Black Rock.
Lyndhurst had their highest score of the year 9.13 (67) in round four, which they’ll need to beat if they are any chance.
Black Rock has an even win to loss ratio of 2-2.
Top-four placed Hampton will head down south to play Skye, who were competitive against Black Rock last weekend.
Hampton’s Madden Griffin has ignited his side on several occasions this season and will aim to do so again, while Shane Long is finding his best form at the right time.
Heatherton will look to turn the early tide against St Kilda City on Saturday afternoon.
Heatherton has started at 1-3 and its early struggles on the scoreboard are noticeable.
They are yet to kick over eight goals in a game, a fix which will inevitably result into wins if actioned. St Kilda City’s blemish last week will be quickly forgotten if they can right their wrongs this week.
SOUTHERN DIVISION 3
Results R4: Berwick Springs 11.18 (84) def St Kilda City 12.9 (81), Carrum Patterson Lakes 22.9 (141) def Lyndhurst 9.13 (67), South Mornington 9.8 (62) def Heatherton 7.5 (47), Black Rock 15.12 (102) def Skye 10.11 (71), Hampton 11.12 (78) def Ashwood def 5.12 (42).
Ladder: Carrum Patterson Lakes 16, Berwick Springs 16, St Kilda City 12, Hampton 8, Black Rock 8, South Mornington 4, Skye 4, Heatherton 4, Ashwood 4, Lyndhurst 0.
Fixture R5: Lyndhurst (10) v Black Rock (5), Carrum Patterson Lakes (1) v South Mornington (6), Heatherton (8) v St Kilda City (3), Ashwood (9) v Berwick Springs (2), Skye (7) v Hampton (4).
