Unicorns claim fourth spot as Raiders upset Gryphons

Jarryd McGuane – @JMcGuane

Round 9 results have caused a mid-table jam in Division 2 with fourth spot on the ladder all the way down to eighth are now only separated by percentage alone. The second half of 2017 is now primed to be an enticing battle for finals spots. On the back of their impressive win, MHSOB climbed the ladder to claim fourth spot, while the Raiders caused the upset of the round to pull themselves back into finals contention.

It was the story of three forwards, as the two most-dominant, Fraser Cloney and Brent Gutterson, for Eltham Collegians did enough to hold off Bulleen Templestowe and Kristian Cherbakof by 23 points at Eltham College. Both sides had success up forward in the first quarter as the Turtles would take a slim six-point lead into quarter time. Eltham Collegians would then slam on seven goals to one in the second quarter to have the Bullants trailing by 40 points at the major change. Bulleen Templestowe would show fight in the third quarter as they held the Turtles to two behinds and kicked four goals of their own to trail by 12 points at three quarter time. But Eltham Collegians steadied with four goals to two to secure a comfortable win. Fraser Cloney with six goals and Brent Gutterson with four led the way for the Turtles up forward and Travis Stevens was best on the ground. Kristian Cherbakof was in sublime form in defeat for the Bullants as he added seven goals to his season tally of 26 and was their best.

West Brunswick overcame a slow start as they defeated Emmaus St Leos by 55 points at Ransford Oval. Emmaus St Leos held the Westies to five behinds in the first quarter as their 3.1 pushed them out to a 14 points quarter time lead. The tide turned in the second quarter as West Brunswick slammed on five goals to one to take a 10-point lead into halftime. The game would be put beyond doubt in the third as another six goals to two in the Westies favour had the margin sitting at 36 points at the final break. Emmaus St Leos would add three in the last quarter but conceded six goals again as West Brunswick came away with the points. Craig Mitchell’s strong season continued with a best on ground performance, while Bill Irving, Matthew Holmes and Rhys Hartwig put through three goals each. Jonathan O’Connor was the Animals’ best, with Christopher Beluszar kicking three.

At Toorak Park, Prahran Assumption dented Yarra Old Grammarians top two hopes with a 58-point victory over the Bushrangers. It started in an even fashion with both sides on the scoreboard with three goals and the Two Blues leading by three points at quarter time. Prahran Assumption would take over control in the second quarter, with five goals to two, taking a 25-point lead into halftime. The Bushrangers would not be able to arrest the momentum as they trailed by 42 points at three quarter time and eventually 58 points at the final siren. Eric Kuret was the best on ground for Prahran Assumption, with Josh Hogarth being dominant up forward with five goals. Simon Yeo remains in strong form for the Bushrangers, as Hamish Gleeson and Ben Mathews the only multiple goal kickers with two apiece.

Hawthorn remain winless and were left to rue inaccuracy, as MHSOB defeated the Hawks by 28 points at Melbourne High School. Despite eight shots to five, Hawthorn would trail at quarter time by two points. But they would be in the lead at halftime as their 3.4 to the Unicorns 2.3 gave them a five point advantage. It would be all MHSOB from then on, with three goals to one to take their own six-point lead into the final change. With the game on the line, the Unicorns slammed on seven goals to inflicted more despair on the Hawks, although valiant. Mitchell Wilson was the Unicorns’ best, with Matthew Bouwmeester and Ashley Hogan damaging on the scoreboard with four goals each. William Meehan was the Hawks best in defeat, also adding two goals along with Thomas Bowler.

In the surprise of the round, Old Paradians came from behind to defeat Glen Eira by five points at Packer Reserve. In a low scoring first quarter, Glen Eira would take a four-point lead into quarter time due to their inaccuracy. The Gryphons extended their lead to 15 points, but it should have been more with their 14 shots to the Raiders nine. Old Paradians would reduce the margin to eight at three quarter time to have the game on a tipping point. Glen Eira had their opportunity to seal the result but only managed 2.7 in the final quarter, and the Raiders 5.2 got them over the line. Ross Licciardi put in an all-round performance for Old Paradians, and Danny Nolan got the job done up forward with three goals. Thomas Costigan and Scott Dowsing kicked three apiece for the Gryphons and Nathan Dennis was their best.

Round 10 opens up with Emmaus St Leos hosting the red hot MHSOB at Bennettswood Sports Ground, with the winner likely to take control of fourth place. Hawthorn will travel to Doncaster Reserve to take on third placed Yarra Old Grammarians. Old Paradians would hope their strong performance carries on for a second week as they host top of the table Prahran Assumption at Garvey Oval. Eltham Collegians can leapfrog their opponents Glen Eira into finals contention with a win at Packer Reserve. The final game of the round has sliding Bulleen Templestowe travelling to Ransford Oval to play second placed West Brunswick.