By JARROD POTTER
SOUTHERN FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Division 2 – round 13
FINALS seem a long shot for Springvale Districts after a last-term capitulation against Hampton.
The lead went back-and-forth all match as both sides hit the scoreboard.
With the battle for sixth spot against the Hammers still alive coming into the final change, Demons’ coach Jack McTaggart urged his players to keep their heads up and support each other at all costs.
Springvale Districts won the centre clearances and had the lion’s share of possession through the first 10 minutes of the last term and it seemed McTaggart’s words were sinking in as the team created a number of inside-50s to set up Gavin Vassallo (2 goals).
The wily small forward threaded one to bring the margin back to two goals, but from there on Hampton sporadically slammed on its six goals in the fourth to build a handy buffer and take the 30-point triumph.
Run-and-carry from the likes of Vassallo, Chris Keenan and Ben Laier stood out in the Springvale Districts’ effort as did Daniel Wilson – who comfortably won the ruck duel on the day.
With a number of quality players missing – including Matt Thompson and Leighton Ross, Chris McTaggart – the coach admitted his side put it as much as it could but didn’t have the polish to knock off the Hammers.
“Just some decision-making and skill errors let us down a little bit,” McTaggart said.
“Bit of quality as well, but that’s what we’ve got so I asked them to give their all… you go into each game and ask for maximum effort and that’s what they did.”
McTaggart, who also plays for Dingley Superules team, donned the Demons’ jumper on Saturday as the side desperately needing a few big bodies at the coalface and he performed excellently in his first match for the SFL Division 2 side.
“We lack some bigger bodies in the middle and wanted to give the guys a hand,” McTaggart said.
“I don’t want to stand on the boundary line and have a crack at guys, I’d rather get out there and contribute.”
Falling to seventh, Districts host ladder-leading Mordialloc this week – which would be a daunting task for most sides – but McTaggart knows his charges can knock them off.
“We need to win next week – once it gets to this sort of position we need things to go our way a little bit,” McTaggart said.
“We beat Mordialloc round one, we know they’ve got a few injuries and getting a couple back, so we’ll just see what happens next week.”
After Mordialloc, Springvale Districts has winnable games against Doveton Eagles, Moorabbin, Murrumbeena and Caulfield remaining on their fixture, making this round’s home clash crucial for the run towards finals.
DIVISION 3 – Round 14
SATURDAY will be wiped from the Greater Dandenong SFL teams’ history books after a woeful day at the office for Dandenong, Sandown and Lyndale.
Dandenong had a third-quarter fade out against Black Rock, with the Jets hitting the afterburners to kick six goals to three after half-time. A scoreless third term left the Redlegs in dire straits and it only got worse in the final term as Black Rock matched pace and kept Dandenong from mounting a comeback. Shannon O’Connor and Scott Moody were best on ground.
Lyndale was similarly poor after the main break, copping a 63-point hiding by South Yarra. The Lions had every answer to the Pumas attack – keeping full forward Trevor Kumetaitis to a pair and restricting Lyndale to just 6.13 for the afternoon. Ordell Buntine and Brett Tosh excelled on a lacklustre Lyndale performance.
Sandown copped a 102-point drubbing as it was belted pill-ar to post by Mount Waverley. The Mountain Lions proved their chops as premiership favourites in a second-half demolition. The Cobras remained alive at the main break, as Jake Chapman (3 goals) and Frank Martinicchio (2) fired off majors, but the resolve fell away after the half. Martinicchio, Anthony La Rocca and Daniel Macklin earned kudos in the loss.
