By Romy Stephens
OUTER EAST FOOTBALL
PREMIER DIVISION REVIEW – ROUND 11
Beaconsfield announced itself as a serious premiership contender with an impressive come-from-behind win over second-placed Narre Warren at home on Saturday, 10.10 (70) to 8.11 (59).
The win marks the Eagles’ sixth on the trot and sees them edge that little bit closer to ladder-leaders Narre Warren and Berwick. Ladder positioning aside, the confidence boost will help put them right in the mix for premiership contention come finals time in September.
What’s more, Beaconsfield will welcome back champion ruckman Scott Meyer after the break. The combination of him – likely playing up forward – and Riley Welsh remaining as the number one ruck will prove a scary combination for the remainder of the season.
The Magpies got off to a dominant start, slotting 4.3 to 1.2 by quarter-time. But a goal to full-forward Matthew Johnson at the end of the first quarter would be the precursor for what was to come. Another two majors from Johnson in the second term saw the Eagles narrow the margin to just five points heading into the main break.
It seemed the Magpies were going to prove too composed as they retained the lead heading into the final term, but two more goals from Johnson (six in total) saw the Eagles steal the win.
The standout performance from Johnson is a pivotal point for him this season, after being dropped and made to earn his position by Beaconsfield coach Leigh McQuillen earlier this year.
North Melbourne VFL-listed gun Riley Verbi (two goals) continued his superb form as arguably one of the best players in the competition. Defender Corey Walker was the general in defence for the Pies, while Jack Docherty and Kyle O’Sullivan were prolific in the centre.
After losing to Narre Warren in a game the Eagles probably should have won back in Round 2, the weekend’s win shows how far they have come in such a short space of time.
Woori Yallock was bolstered by a one-off appearance from legendary former St Kilda forward Stephen Milne, who helped the Tigers secure a convincing win over Wandin 16.14 (110) to 9.10 (64) at home.
Despite booting four goals, Milne wasn’t the star of the show and found himself overshadowed by Ben Monkhorst who kicked a career-best five goals.
A slow start from the Tigers saw Wandin in front by three points heading into half-time, but the likes of midfielders Zach Monkorst (three goals), Kane Thompson (one) and defender Michael Batten helped their side hit the lead during the third term. Once in front, the Tigers didn’t look back, leaving the Bulldogs goalless in the final quarter and booting eight majors themselves.
The win sees fourth-placed Woori Yallock distance itself on the ladder from Cranbourne – who had the bye this week – and Wandin, which are now battling it out for fifth spot.
The return of injured players wasn’t the only win for Olinda Ferny Creek, as it recorded a 62-point thumping over Upwey 19.6 (120) to 8.10 (58).
Skipper and gun on-baller Marcus Hottes returned from injury, while big man James Charge started to build into his best form after injury derailed the start of his year.
With midfielders Dylan Wilson (two goals) and Peter Gough (two) making the most of scoring opportunities, the Bloods took control from the start and were never in doubt for the rest of the game.
Charge (four goals), Lachlan Taylor (three) and Thomas Millwood (two) were influential, proving far too strong for the Tigers’ defence. The seventh-placed Bloods have now edged themselves a game clear of eight-placed Upwey.
In the biggest margin of the weekend, the ladder-leading Berwick dominated bottom-placed Healesville with a mammoth win, 26.26 (182) to 3.4 (22).
The win capped off an extraordinary day for the Wickers in general. Earlier on, Berwick’s reserves side scored 37.23 (245) and held the Bloods scoreless. Meanwhile, in the under-18 clash against Alexandra, the Wickers scored 29.14 (188) to win by 180 points. In total, the Wickers scored 92.63 (639) to 4.6 (30), a differential of 609 points.
Berwick’s inaccuracy on goal wasn’t enough to help the Bloods who struggled to keep up from the first bounce. A solid performance from Harrison Money (three goals) saw him retain his position on top of the goal-kicking tally for the season. But it was half-forward Jordan Andrews who was clearly best-on-ground with an enormous 10 goals to his name by the final siren.
Rod Woodford (three goals) continued his strong season and was gallant for the Bloods, kicking their only goals.
With every game proving vital from here on in, all teams will take some time to replenish for this weekend’s mid-season break. Come Round 12, eyes will be fixed on the battle between fourth-placed Woori Yallock and fifth-placed Cranbourne. Meanwhile, Wandin will be aiming for an upset win over Beaconsfield to remain in the finals hunt.
