Aquinas looking good

Round 5 had some cracking games and seesawing quarters due to the blustery conditions. Aquinas made the division stand up and take notice. Hawthorn is beginning to make a move and Eley Park showed character in the 4th, to get across the finish line. It seems Emmaus St. Leo’s and West Brunny can’t be touched. . . . . yet.

Aquinas defeated Swinburne Uni

Swinburne Uni started well and dictated terms, however couldn’t put it on the scoreboard in the first 10 minutes. Once they got going, Swinburne dominated with a good spread, accurate kicking and overhead marking. Aquinas first goal was 10 minutes before half time courtesy of Sam Williams. For the Bloods, Michael Niezen and Andy La Marca put on a midfield clinic in the 3rd quarter with Niezen kicking 3 running goals from centre clearances.  Aquinas’ Lachy McDonald, began a tagging role on Danny Manning after half time to put a stop to his first half dominance. Aquinas then went on a rampage kicking 11 of the last 13 goals of the game. The final quarter was a hard fought affair with Swinny uncharacteristically, failing to capitalise of their forward entries. Sam Williams ended the day with 4 for the Bloods.

UHS-VU defeated by West Brunswick

The West Brunswick train just kept rolling on at Brens oval with a strong convincing win. UHS won the toss and kicked with the aide of a reasonable breeze. The Vultures kicked the first two goals in quick time and led at the first change. However, through the efforts of Dillon, Stubbings, Ferrier, “Red” Lloyd and 100 gamer Chris German, the Magpies managed to steady and get to quarter time a goal down. Then came the Magpie onslaught as they dominated play in their forward half, but didn’t convert on many opportunities. UHS got 2 goals on the rebound and at halftime were still in with a sniff. UHS came out hard in the 3rd, but were unable to make a dent on the scoreboard, allowing the Magpies to then kick away in the last quarter for what on the scoreboard looked a comfortable win. The score didn’t reflect the closeness of the game around the ground, and UHS should hold their heads high on their effort. Charles Jackson was best for UHS. The Magpies poor kicking for goal again is still their Achilles heel but, they shouldn’t be complaining as they head towards a bye at 5-0 .

La Trobe Uni defeated by Emmaus St. Leo’s

It was windy at La Trobe, which made it a difficult to play consistent football. La Trobe kicked with the advantage in the first to lead by a goal at the end of the quarter. The Animals fired in the 2nd with 5 unanswered goals. Through Shaun Field and Bradley Hoffman, La Trobe attacked in the 3rd but the Animals defence of Ronan Stafford and Anthony Ballard, held strong. The Animals started well in the last, but La Trobe fought back against the wind to go down by 62 points. Division 3 goal-kicking leader, Christopher Beluszar (5 goals) and Paul Baranello (3 goals) were the go-to players, in a very even performance. La Trobe should definitely take a lot out of this game as they were able to slow the Animals down in two quarters.

Hawthorn defeated Albert Park

I said it last week but, Hawthorn are starting to gain momentum. They also aren’t relying on the same players week in week out to get the job done. After a challenging 1st quarter which saw the Falcons up by 2, the Hawks slowly but surely kept edging away from the Falcons at each exchange. Ben Raeside and Jack Amies were best for the Falcons but, just simply couldn’t get it going at Rathmines Rd. The Hawks Sam Gold, had again kicked a bag with a season high 6 goals. The Hawks, Devan Healey was best on the field.

Eley Park defeated Power House

Eley Park were struck by yet ANOTHER big injury before the game with full forward “Burner” Bahnsen ruled out. Things didn’t get better with “Mighty Mouse”, Mitch Flynn breaking his collar bone 5 mins into the 1st. Power House started the better side with the use of a decent breeze and Luke Stubbs kicking 3 majors in the quarter (4 for the game), giving them a solid 19pt lead. Matty Boyall was on top early for the Sharks from the wing. The Sharks pegged them back with some excellent on ball work from Patty McMahon and Terry Dingledei. The returning, Declan Mitchell finishing off their good work. Again with the breeze, Power House managed to get on top and held a 2 goal buffer at the last change. The Sharks came out firing in the last led by “Big Boy” Booth who kicked 4 in the last and Al “Cashman” Renshaw who held his own at Centre Half Back. For Power House, Adam Collett booted 4, Ben Leskie saw a bit of the footy but, didn’t hurt the scoreboard and David Burnside was their best after having a week on the sidelines.

PREVIEW

My match of the round is Albert Park (6th) hosting UHS-VU (4th). Both sides had a week to forget and need to bounce back. I’m going for UHS-VU, as they would have learned something from the Magpies. Glen Eira (11th) have had the week off and face an in form Hawthorn (7th) at Packer Reserve. Hawthorn to make it 2 in a row. Emmaus St. Leo’s (2nd) head out to tackle Power House (10th) on their ground. Emmaus St. Leo’s just simply have too much firepower and could possibly take top spot as a result. It could have very well been Swinburne Uni (5th), that we would have been praising instead of Aquinas. So the Razorbacks will be hungry. La Trobe Uni (9th), in my opinion, have had the toughest draw so far and it’s not going to get easier when they head out to St. James Park. Unfortunately, La Trobe will drop another one.

Lastly, Eley Park stay at Whitehorse reserve for the second week running, to host a Aquinas unit that is up and about. Eley Park are under-manned against a very strong side that’s out for “blood”. Sorry. Aquinas to win. West Brunswick take a well earned break with the bye before the “Battle of the Birds” with Albert Park.

Albert Park Vs. UHS-VU

Glen Eira Vs. Hawthorn

Power House Vs. Emmaus St. Leo’s

Swinburne Uni Vs. La Trobe Uni

Eley Park Vs. Aquinas