By Hayley Wildes
In a clash between local foes in the Eastern Football League, Rowville and Noble Park played out an enthralling battle at Seebeck Oval.
It was a clash that shaped as an intriguing one and that’s exactly how it played out.
The Bulls came out hard early to lead by 14 points at the first break, but the Hawks responded and at the main break, Noble Park led by five points, 5.3 (33) to 4.4 (28).
The second half would turn into a classic encounter and, with stars from both teams putting on a show – including the likes of Kyle Martin and Nik Schoenmakers – it was a great game of football. With a quarter to play, the Bulls held a slender one-point lead, 7.4 (46) to 6.9 (45).
After an intense final few minutes, Rowville did enough to get over the line by two points, 10.13 (73) to 11.5 (71), in the game of the season. There were two lead changes in the final 30 seconds of play, with Tom Lockman slotting a long-range set shot after the siren to secure victory for the Hawks in rapturous scenes.
Inaccuracy in front of goal almost cost the Hawks, but Steven Georgiou (four goals) was stellar, while Ben Giobbi and Lachlan McDonald were impressive across the ground. For the Bulls, Josh Tour and Tom Glen gave it everything.
In Division 2 of the Southern Football League, there were some absolutely massive wins for the local teams.
Springvale Districts – who sit atop the ladder with an 8-1 record – held Chelsea Heights goalless in the first half of their clash and continued to pile on the pain after half time. With Matt Wetering (six goals) and Stefan Feehan (five goals) running amok up forward, the Dees cruised to a 122-point win, 21.13 (139) to 2.5 (17)..
The Doveton Eagles bounced back in style from two consecutive losses to defeat Heatherton and solidify their place inside the top four.
In a blistering offensive masterclass, the Eagles slammed on 28 goals – led by Jye Sigersma (six goals), Adam Read (five goals) and Nicholas Battle (four goals) – to run out 125-point winners, 28.18 (186) to 9.7 (61).
Cory Wilson and Michael Callinan (two goals each) enjoyed themselves as they completely monstered their Heatherton opponents.
Keysborough was far too good for Caulfield and remain undefeated with six wins on the board.
The Burras’ forwards were a class above the Caulfield backline and it showed from the outset as the likes of Tim Werner (six goals), Geoffrey Humphreys and Matthew Carnelley (four goals each) ran riot inside the forward 50.
While that trio made plenty of noise up forward, Aaron McIlroy was a man on a mission in the middle as Keysborough recorded a 100-point win, 21.10 (136) to 5.6 (36).
