Masala’s day out in Division 4

By Gav Southern – @GavSouthern

This week, wet conditions and scrappy football was the order of the day for most games. The big news of the round was Masala standing stall in emphatic style at home over Box Hill North. Easybeats no more. Eley Park and Chadstone struggled, the Doggies and the Bulls were clinical and Mt. Lilydale’s bye still has them in 4th. The Westbourne train is still running express to the double chance finals. To last week’s games:

Masala def Box Hill North 

A massive day for Masala as they hosted Box Hill North. It was a wet first quarter however, Masala booted 7 goals to 3 on the scoreboard. It was a tighter second quarter with both teams kicking two goals in the heavy rain, giving Masala a 4 goal lead at half time. Third quarter saw Masala kick 11 goals to Box Hill’s 2 which perpetuated into a final winning margin of 10 goals for Masala. A strong performance by Samuel Freeman with club record of 8 goals and a massive congratulations to Brad Parker who is the first person to play 50 games for Masala. Josh Kyle booted 6 and BOG was Masala’s William McMahon. The shining lights for BHN were Aloma Obialor and Alec Nhyuis who battled hard all day but lacking in the support. Cam Liston (2 goals) supplied plenty of hit outs to his on-ballers to ensure first use.

North Brunswick def Chadstone

The 143-7 scoreline outlined another dark day for Chadstone, as they headed out to Allard Park to face the Bulls of North Brunswick. The tough, wet conditions did make it hard to gather clean possession but, the Bulls handled their ground a lot better than the Synners. Despite the scoreline, it was the Synner backline of “Daffy” Cumming, Andrew Sparks and Cailin “CJ” Austin, who stood tall. Jake “Grug” Farrugia again, kicked their only goal. The Synners struggled with forward entries. For the victors, BOG, Paul Butler (5 goals), Keary Mourelatos and Ken Zuidima (4) were dominant.

Point Cook def Manningham

It was Manningham’s turn this week to cross the Westgate to take on Point Cook. Another dominant match by the home team in every quarter shows the difference between the top 3 and the rest. Manningham could have made a go of this but, squandered many opportunities in front of the sticks. Point Cook built on the lead after every quarter whilst restricting the potent Cobra forward line (Chris Jolly 2 goals) to just 5. Although you could say William Dawson was held to 3 goals, the Doggies were able to get 7 other goal scorers free. Nick Edwards was best for Manningham whilst Doggies BOG was Mason Kip.

Eley Park def by Westbourne

A refreshed Westbourne headed out to Shark Park to take on Eley Park. What was touted as a Grand Final prequel, turned out to be a bit of a fizzer. The Warriors piled in the first 6 goals in very quick fashion and were able to handle the small ground a lot better than their counterparts. The Sharks kept falling down across half forward whilst Dave Viola was doing a job early on Dale Collins (5 goals), until he went forward in the second half to kick 5 majors. The Warrior ball use of Chuck Hunter across half back and Paul Hudson (1 goal) was exceptional and their ability to use the corridor kept the Sharks at bay (no pun intended). Trent Sigalas, Andrew Zaicos, Jesiah McGarvie and Josh Balon were amongst the Sharks best. For the Warriors, Justin Johns (4 goals) and BOG Will Wright were unstoppable.

PREVIEW

Despite another week of 3/4 tipping, I DID still think an upset was on the cards. Every club is eager for the end of this week , to see were they all shape up after playing everyone once. Anther week of one-sided matches but, percentage is all important for the sides 3rd to (dare I say) 8th.  To the games:

This week’s match of the round, has North Brunswick (5th) hosting a rested Mt.Lilydale (4th). The weather is supposed to wet again and although the Bulls won big last week, there’s a lot to tidy up. Mt. Lilydale

Chadstone (9th) host the well, oiled Point Cook machine at Jordan Reserve. Let’s hope Chaddy’s loss doesn’t put a dampener on their trivia night tat night.

Manningham (6th) host Box Hill North, still clutching on to 7th as both clubs come off losses. Manningham to bounce back.

If I could head out to Westbourne (1st) hosting Masala (8th) I would. The Tigers would be on cloud 9 with 2 victories and this will be a massive test. The Warriors will be well aware of their quick starts and I believe Westbourne will put this to bed.

Eley Park (3rd) get ample time to lick their wounds this week with the bye and the Queen’s Birthday weekend before heading up the Maroondah for the Rams.

Tips

North Brunswick Vs. Mt. Lilydale

Chadstone Vs. Point Cook 

Manningham Vs. Box Hill North

Westbourne Vs. Masala