DIVISION 4

Josh Gabelich

THE UNTHINKABLE The unthinkable has finally happened. South Mornington has somehow been defeated. Although this result breathes life back into this seemingly predictable competition, I’m sure that there are plenty of people who are somewhat disappointed with the end of the Tigers phenomenal run. Twelve wins in a row is an impressive accomplishment. But it did seem unlikely that they could go the entire season without escaping defeat. Unblemished seasons don’t occur too often and I have no doubt that South Mornington would rather a loss now than on Grand Final day. In what was one of the most action packed weekends of football this year, Chadstone almost put together four quarters of scintillating football against tough opposition in Point Cook. The Synners are no strangers to defeat with the club not having tasted victory in over five long, hard seasons. Fellow cellar dwellers in recent times, Manningham Cobras, also demonstrated their strong resurgence this season with a comprehensive victory against West Brunswick. However, in the game of the year so far, Eley Park pulled off one of the greatest upsets in recent memory. The Sharks led from start to finish at Whitehorse Reserve, racing to a six-goal lead at the main break. But the Tigers wouldn’t go down that easily, dominating the second half booting six goals to two. In fact, if South Mornington hadn’t been so wasteful in front of goal, the result may have gone the other way. Twelve-second half behinds didn’t help the ladder leaders in their pursuit to keep their unblemished record in tact. Credit must not be taken away from the very impressive Sharks who have established themselves now as the Tigers biggest threat in September. Matt Corstorphin and Tim Miller played vital roles in leading the home side to 22

victory, whilst Kyle Gascoigne’s four goals was the highlight for the Tigers who were sent home licking their wounds. North Brunswick continued their good recent form with a comfortable victory in front of home fans on Saturday. The Bulls took control of the contest against Mt Lilydale in the second term before running out eventual victors by 45 points. The Rams will have to review what went wrong for them after matching the Bulls in the opening term before slipping away from the contest drastically after the first break. Four goals in the final three stanzas will rarely be adequate to take away the four points. At Jordan Reserve the red and blue put in their best performance of the season. Alas it wasn’t quite enough to take home the chocolates against a lacklustre Point Cook outfit. Shocked on lookers couldn’t believe their eyes when Chadstone went in to the quarter time huddle with a sixteen point lead. If it weren’t for the Bulldogs seven goal last quarter, the margin would have been even closer. The Synners third quarter was their most impressive for 2012 with five goals against one of this seasons greatest threats to the premiership. Club stalwart Cisco George put on a show for ecstatic home fans, whereas Ben Cox was the standout for the less than impressive Dogs. With South Mornington’s loss demonstrating that they can be beaten this year, clubs like Swinburne Uni will be fuelled with extra confidence heading into the business end of the season. The Razorbacks dispatched of Box Hill North in a rather comprehensive manner at Elgar Park. The Demons remained in touching distance of the students throughout the contest but it took up until the last quarter for the victory to be confirmed. Six goals by Richie Lugg went a long TODAY SELECTIONS IN BOLD Point Cook v Eley Park Sharks West Brunswick v North Brunswick Mt Lilydale v Box Hill North Swinburne University v Chadstone South Mornington v Manningham Cobras

THE AMATEUR FOOTBALLER 2012

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