By Marc McGowan
PARKMORE had its third loss of the season, this time by three points to third-placed Black Rock at McDonald Reserve in their Division Three Southern Football League (SFL) battle on the weekend.
The Pirates’ hopes weren’t helped by the unavailability of century-goalkicker Daniel Casset, who succumbed to a persistent knee injury.
With Parkmore’s finals spot already secure, Casset may also be missing when the club hosts Doveton this week.
His spot was filled admirably by first-year player Emad Nassrallah, who slammed through eight goals.
The teams fought out a tight stoush in the opening quarter, with the Rockers holding firm by five points.
Black Rock managed to extend the lead to 15 points by half-time, after a four-goal-to-two term.
Parkmore is not in top spot for nothing and came roaring back in the third quarter to level the scores by the final change.
Despite more scoring shots, the Pirates could not topple the Rockers and fell agonisingly short of its 14th victory of the season.
Parkmore assistant coach Gary Connolly said Black Rock really went out to play football.
“Their determination and hardness at the ball was good,” he said.
Sandown sinks at Stradbroke
SANDOWN has slumped to its 16th defeat of the season after being torn apart by second-placed North Kew to the tune of 96 points in Division Three SFL action at Stradbroke Park on Saturday.
The Cobras lost several players on the morning of the match, on top of the loss of key player Daniel Brown, who joined the myriad of sportsmen in recent weeks to be disciplined for headbutting.
Sandown president Lew Short said to have any chance it had to have its best side in.
The Bears, who join Parkmore on 13 wins after defeating the Cobras, were rampant from the beginning and banged through eight goals by the first change to lead by 34 points.
A six-goal-to-two second term blew the margin out to 61 points by the long break and a further nine-goals-to-four in the second half sealed the shellacking.
Short said they pulled it out as best they could and they were proud of the team from that perspective.
“They gave it all they could in the circumstances,” he said.
Mountain Lions dump Doves
DOVETON narrowly failed to win its fourth match of the season; going down to Mount Waverley by 13 points in Division Three SFL play at Power Reserve on the weekend.
The Eagles fought hard all day, but eventually succumbed to the youthful legs of the Mountain Lions.
The tone of the match was set in the opening quarter, with Mount Waverley’s four goals giving it a five-point edge.
The teams both kicked two goals in the second period, as the margin grew to seven points.
In a goal-packed third quarter, Mount Waverley managed to push its three-quarter-time lead out to 16 points, but it was cut to five points with minutes left in the match.
Unfortunately for Doveton, youngster Brett Reid failed to goal from 20 metres out and although the Eagles managed to keep the ball up forward for a little longer, another Mountain Lion goal sealed their fate.
Eagles playing coach Paul Davis said Mount Waverley was more physical when the ball was in tight.
“When they get the ball and run they are pretty good at it,” he said.
Demons ditch Hampton
SPRINGVALE Districts continued to march on with a commanding 53-point victory over Hampton in Division Two SFL action on Saturday at Springvale Reserve.
It was the Demons fourth straight win and kept them a game ahead of Oakleigh District in the race for the last spot in the finals.
Springvale led by 10 points at quarter-time, but stamped its authority on the contest in the second term, kicking six goals to earn a five-goal break at half-time.
Hampton fought back in the third term, but only managed to slice the margin by seven points before the Demons rammed home the advantage in the final term, kicking eight goals to three to add another scalp to their impressive recent form.
Springvale Districts coach Stephen Hughes said he’d spoken to the players about improving five per cent each week.
“We were overusing the ball earlier in the season, so we’re just looking to play a bit more direct,” he said.
Roos pummel Pumas
LYNDALE was demolished by 129 points at the hands of their bogey team Moorabbin in their Division Two SFL encounter.
The teams played out a similar margin earlier this season, when the Kangaroos thumped the Pumas by 120 points.
The writing was on the wall from the start, with Moorabbin hitting the scoreboard to the tune of seven goals to open up a 38-point lead by the first change.
It got progressively worse for Lyndale, with the difference out to 63 points by half-time.
The Kangaroos kicked six and seven goals respectively, in the third and fourth stanzas, to blow the margin well past the ton.
It was the Pumas’ third straight heavy defeat and the combined losing aggregate is 244 points in that time. Their percentage has dropped an astounding 10 per cent to a miserable 69.3.
Tristan Caples was the best of a sorry bunch for Lyndale.
