By Paul Pickering
THE DANDY Demons have been ousted from the top four in Division Three of the Southern Football League after a spiteful contest at Skye’s Steve Thompson Oval on Saturday.
The SFL is investigating the circumstances in which two Skye players were allegedly struck behind play during the match.
While Demons’ coach Mick Hawken conceded that his team lost its cool during the shock defeat, he claimed that the umpires allowed the game to get out of control in the lead-up to an all-in scuffle at the end of the third quarter.
“I thought they let the game go a bit when they should have nipped it in the bud,” he said after the match.
“They didn’t seem to look after the ball carriers and the game got ugly.
“When you let it go, blokes get frustrated and there was some pretty undisciplined stuff from our guys.”
Down by eight goals at three-quarter-time, a rattled Dandy side fell away in the final term – conceding vital percentage in the 83-point loss.
Hawken was full of praise for a hard-nosed Bombers outfit that he said was sure to worry some sides for the remainder of the season.
In a day with few positives for Dandy, Robbie Westin was a shining light up forward – booting five goals from limited supply.
At the other end, Adrian Piccioli stood tall in a key defensive post as the Bombers bombed it in to spearhead Mark Mussared.
Having suffered two consecutive losses to surrender its top-four spot, Dandy faces a season-defining clash against Black Rock this week.
The Rockers are sitting in third place, one win and 40 percentage points ahead of the Demons.
The game at Dandy’s Greaves Reserve will provide an indication of the Demons’ mindset in the run towards the finals.
“It’s a mini-final for us this week,” Hawken said.
“It’ll be a good gauge to where we’re at and how much they want to play footy.”
@BT Sub Sport News:Sandown v Canterbury
SANDOWN was all hiss and no strike in the battle of the Cobras at Canterbury on Saturday.
The Sandown-bred Cobras looked threatening throughout the first three quarters, but backed off when it counted in the final term to go down by 53 points.
Sandown spearhead Clinton Sheedy – the division’s leading goalkicker – struggled under the attention of the swarming Canterbury defence, managing just two goals and forcing his midfielders to find other avenues to goal.
Among the best for Sandown were regular contributors Simon Foster, Michael Robinson, Adam Maling and Daniel Mulvogue.
Daniel Pearce was Canterbury’s best for the fifth time this season, while Simon Jenkins bobbed up to boot five in his biggest haul of the year.
Sandown will host a resurgent Skye this Saturday at Edinburgh Reserve.
Meanwhile, Doveton Eagles will take on Canterbury in a fourth versus second clash at Power Reserve.
