Stonecats snap winless streak DIVISION ONE
By Brodie Cowburn FRANKSTON YCW have finally broken their run of seven games without a win by defeating EdithvaleAspendale in a dominant display. The Stonecats’ last win came over two months ago on 5 May against Mornington in a victory that solidified their spot on top of the ladder. Since that game they have slumped to sixth place and now face a real danger of missing out on finals. Their clash at home against Edi-Asp on Saturday was an absolute must win, but things got off to a shaky start. EdiAsp went into the first break in front by two goals, and the Stonecats were left pondering just when their luck would turn. Luckily for the Stonecats, they would have a much better second term, holding Edi-Asp to just one behind and kicking away to a 13 point lead. The game remained fairly even in the third quarter, and although the Stonecats went into the final term with a 24 point lead, the contest was far from over. In the final quarter though, Frankston YCW announced that they were back in the most convincing way possible, hammering home eight goals to EdiAsp’s one to run away with an easy victory and send alarm bells ringing throughout the rest of the league. Division One’s sleeping giant finally awoke as the Stonecats claimed a comprehensive win over second placed Edithvale-Aspendale 17.18 (110) to 6.6 (42).
Eyes on the prize: Frankston YCW finally broke their losing streak by beating Edithvale-Aspendale. Picture: Andrew Hurst
Kyle Hutchinson was the best player on the ground, booting four goals for the winning Stonecats. At David Macfarlane Reserve, Sorrento played host to both Mornington and a number of high profile AFL stars as they held their ‘Purple Shark Day’ in support of the Maddie Riewoldt’s Vision charity. Richmond premiership players Jack
Riewoldt and Daniel Rioli were joined by former St Kilda captain Nick Riewoldt and former Coleman Medallist Brendan Fevola at David Macfarlane Reserve, where they signed autographs and took photos with fans before the start of the game. The bumper crowd certainly was treated to a thrilling game as well, as Sorrento and Mornington battled it
out in what would be one of the best games of the year. Mornington started out on the right foot over their highly fancied Sorrento opponents, making the most of their limited opportunities and heading into the first break with a three point lead. Sorrento fought back in the second term to wrestle back the lead, but could only establish a three point buffer at the main break despite outnumbering the Bulldogs by eight scoring shots. After the half time break, Mornington came out determined to make Sorrento pay for their sloppiness in front of goal, as they kicked four goals straight to go into the final term with a narrow one point advantage. Although it looked as if one of the season’s most shocking upsets was on the cards, the Sharks showed the quality that made them the team to beat this season, and fought back to claim a nail biting come from behind win 10.17 (77) to 12.3 (75). Mitch Hallahan continued his stellar run of form with another best on ground display for Sorrento, while Shannon Gladman also contributed handily to the win with three goals. At Bonbeach Recreation reserve, Mt Eliza travelled to take on Bonbeach as they looked to close the gap between third and second place. Mt Eliza were on top for the majority of the game, but no matter how hard the Redlegs tried they couldn’t drive the final nail in the coffin. Mt Eliza led at each break during the game, but
never by more than two points. Although the contest looked set to go down to the wire in the final term, the Redlegs finally kicked away and established a buffer, holding the Sharks to just one point in the final term to take out a 6.6 (42) to 9.6 (60) win. Ben Landry and Luca Goonan were among the best on the ground for Mt Eliza, while former Sydney Swan Trent Dennis-Lane was a contributor for Bonbeach with two goals. The win takes Mt Eliza to within one game of second place Edi-Asp going into the final rounds of the year. The final game for the round saw Pines host the Frankston Bombers in what would turn out to be a one sided affair. The goal hungry Pines easily claimed the four points by booting 21 goals in a percentage boosting win that took them to fourth on the ladder. Pines boast the best percentage in the league by a wide margin, which may come in handy coming into the closing stages of the home and away season. The game was done and dusted by the quarter time break, as Pines raced out of the gates with a stunning nine goal to one first term which put them out to a 48 point lead. From there, the Bombers could do nothing to get back into the contest, as they eventually succumbed to Pines 21.11 (137) to 11.13 (78). Pines boasted 12 individual goal kickers, with Aaron Ludewig and Aaron Edwards the best among them with four and three respectively.
Kangaroos keep touch with finals DIVISION TWO
By Brodie Cowburn LANGWARRIN have kept their season alive with a hard fought victory over Hastings at Lloyd Park on Saturday. Coming off a disappointing thrashing against Dromana last week, Langwarrin needed to grab a win over Hastings to be any hope at all of making the finals. Helped by the return of some key players from injuries, Langwarrin got things started in the best possible way and took a 21 point lead into the quarter time break. By the time the half time break rolled along, Langwarrin were still leading, but Hastings were keeping touch thanks to their accuracy in front of goal. Hastings had converted six goals from six scoring opportunities to keep themselves in contention. After the main break Hastings continued to kick straight, but just weren’t able to keep up with Langwarrin. As the final siren sounded, Langwarrin claimed all four points with a 13.12 (90) to 11.3 (69) win. Luke Hewitt booted three goals for the losing side to take his tally to the year to 44, while Jesse Murphy booted three to take his count for the year to 55. Langwarrin still sit six points behind Hastings in fifth spot, and will have to rely on other results to go their way to sneak into finals over the final four weeks of the season. At Red Hill Recreation Reserve, Karingal travelled to take on Red Hill in a clash that would see the winner claim
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Frankston Times 23 July 2018
No surrender: Red Hill wouldn’t allow the Bulls to charge, and ran away with a comfortable win. Picture: Andrew Hurst
second spot on the ladder. Red Hill entered the contest full of confidence, having won seven consecutive games. They were also boosted by the news that they had resigned coach Jamie Mollo through until the end of the 2020 season. Karingal had been in slightly shaky form, and they started on the wrong foot as Red Hill raced to a 15 point lead at the first break. In the second quarter the Bulls fought back to close the margin to a goal, but
let themselves down with a goalless third term. Red Hill raced away to a five goal lead by the three-quarter time break, which proved to be insurmountable. Helped by nine individual goal kickers, Red Hill ran away with a comfortable 11.11 (77) to 5.7 (37) win. The gap between Red Hill and ladder leaders Dromana was almost closed further by a shock result at Dromana Recreation Reserve, as Tyabb battled hard to nearly steal a stunning win over
the ladder leaders. Dromana started the clash positively with a three goals to one first quarter, but Tyabb closed the gap to just six points at the half time break. Dromana were able to stay on top but couldn’t put the brave Tyabb away for good, with the margin standing at only 15 points going into the final quarter. Although they won the final term and fought hard, the siren eventually sounded with Tyabb just behind, as they fell to Dromana in an 11.19 (85) to 10.14 (74) loss. Although Dromana claimed all four points, the result will have their upcoming opponents hopeful of knocking off the dominant premiership favourites. Ben Holmes had another big game for Dromana with a four goal effort, he has now kicked nine in his last two games. There was another thrilling result at RJ Rowley Reserve, as Rye hosted Devon Meadows in a tight contest. Despite both sides being effectively ruled out of finals contention, they both played as if it were all on the line in a match that went down to the wire. The Demons opened up an early lead over the Devon Meadows Panthers, establishing a seven point deficit by the quarter time break and stretching that lead to eight at half time. Despite leading for most of the day,
Rye couldn’t put the Panthers away, and saw their lead reduced to just four going into the final term. Spurred on by an impressive five goal performance from star forward Michael Theodoridis, the Panthers finally snatched the lead in the final term and ended the game with their noses just in front, securing a stunning come from behind victory 9.16 (70) to 11.7 (73). The battle between Pearcedale and Crib Point was also a thrilling one, as the Magpies fell agonisingly short of just their second win of the year. Although Pearcedale led for the entire afternoon, Crib Point battled hard to stay in touch and give themselves a shot going into the final term. Despite winning the final quarter, Pearcedale were just too strong for the hard working Magpies, as they claimed a 16.10 (106) to 14.13 (97) win. Luke Daniel was the match winner for Pearcedale, kicking three goals in a best on ground performance. The final game of the round saw Chelsea claim an easy win over Somerville in a result that will see Somerville’s slim finals hopes come to an end. Curtis Bywater continued his stunning year with a five goal haul which takes his tally for the year to 53. Somerville could only take consolation from an impressive last quarter in which they outscored Chelsea six goals to two, but it wasn’t nearly enough to overcome the massive deficit that had been opened up. The Seagulls finished the contest well on top, defeating Somerville 19.13 (127) to 10.16 (76).