Demons mean to give them hell

By Gavin Staindl
RELEGATION is a reality for the current Division One side the Springvale District Demons but they are determined to fight out the remainder of the season.
The Demons will finish the season last though the effort displayed in their 20-point loss to Cheltenham at Newcomen Road suggests they still have something to prove.
The Demons gave up early goals and trailed by 20 points in the second quarter before kicking their first goal of the match to kick-start the come-back.
With only a win for the season, Springvale looked set for its second when it took the lead mid-way through the final quarter, but five Cheltenham scoring shots in the final 10 minutes quashed the revival.
“We were slow out of the blocks and in the fourth quarter we didn’t take our chances,” Springvale coach Clint Einsiedel said.
“It is inevitable that when you don’t take your chances the other team will … we had a lot of play early in the last quarter but we didn’t make the most of it and they got on top towards the end,” Einsiedel said.
Springvale Districts is now focussed on getting the playing list right in time for next season in Division Two.
“We anticipate losing one or two players but we will be looking at our list and seeing what we’ve got.
“At the moment we need a harder body in the mid-field. And we also need some key position players because we have been getting smashed by the opposition in those areas.
“The rest of the improvement will come from the younger guys. They will be bigger and stronger and we’re not going to need to recruit all that much,” Einsiedel said.
Dingley also boasts a young side and will be looking to advance up the Division One ladder next year but in the mean time it remains second last after a 31-point loss to East Brighton at Souter Oval.
Dingley and East Brighton had both kicked five goals to half time, but the Dingoes could not stop the visitors kicking out to a winning score after the main break.
In Division Two Lyndale was trounced by 219-points to Clayton at Meade Reserve.
Sandown was the only Division Three team to play on the weekend as Dandenong enjoyed the bye created by the disqualification of Doveton from the competition.
The sixth placed Cobras were crushed by 41 points to finals-bound Southern Dragons at Keeley Park.