Sharks take 4th, Bloods blast X-Men

Another round finished and another huge Aquinas win starts us off, the Bloods smashing St Francis Xavier by 100 points to stay right on the heels of the still-undefeated Bulls. Conversely, Mt Lilydale have now gone three games without registering a win to drop to fifth on the ladder, just behind the Eley Park Sharks who have made the jump into the top four with a big victory over Masala.

Aquinas 16.29-125 def St Francis Xavier 3.5-25

Despite an inaccurate display in front of goal, the Bloods finished the game against bottom placed St Francis Xavier 100 points in front at Aquinas College. The first quarter was relatively close with Aquinas appearing to have much more control of the game. Their control began to show on the scoreboard in the second quarter as the Bloods got out to a 39-point lead at the main break. The second half wasn’t getting any better for the X-Men as they only managed another four scoring shots for the day while Aquinas helped themselves to a further 27 on their way to a 100-point thumping. Liam Whelan with five and Patrick Mahon with three added to their growing goal kicking tallies still placed first and second on the leaderboard for the season. Philip Jurkovsky had an outstanding day finishing best on ground. Marcus Coe’s efforts were commendable, ending the game best afield for the X-men on a forgettable day.

Mt Lilydale OC 6.4-40 def by Manningham Cobras AFC 9.12-66

Following a rocky start to the season, the Rams had built a good resurgence over the last two months to firmly place themselves in the top four. However, Round 11 is now the third round in a row where Mt Lilydale have been unable to put a win on the board. As a result, the Rams have slid down to fifth on the ladder. The Cobras on the other hand have used their handy win to further cement themselves in third place as they try and chase down the Bloods and Bulls. It was a relatively close game between the third and fourth placed teams, Manningham only able to gain a 14-point lead by three quarter time. Heading into that last, it was still anyone’s game. However, the Cobras then went on to kick five scoring shots to three and stretch their lead to finish the game 26-point victors. Aaron Potter was best on ground for the Rams. Kane Maghamez booted four majors for the Cobras and Nick Zappala collected best on ground for the match with his best performance for the year.

Parkside FC 5.5-35 def by North Brunswick 10.16-76

The Bulls remain undefeated after 11 rounds as they knocked off Parkside at Pitcher Park on Saturday. North Brunswick came out of the gates firing, inaccuracy the only thing keeping Parkside in the game as The Bulls claimed 11 scoring shots to one in the first term. This trend continued through the remaining three quarters as the Bulls put on another 15 scoring shots to nine, ending the game 41 points ahead and with a faultless. Peter Butler (3) and Jake George (2) along with five other individual goal scorers did the damage for North Brunswick, Peter Butler also collecting best on ground accolades. Adam Wells was good and Shane McLaren did his best for Parkside again but it wasn’t enough to overcome the powerhouse that is this Bulls’ outfit.

Eley Park Sharks 19.16-130 def Masala FC 7.17 59

The last game of the round saw the Eley Park Sharks and Masala battle it out down at Whitehorse Reserve. Despite the large margin, it was quite a close game for much of the contest, especially the first half. Poor kicking in front of goal the only thing stopping the Tigers from heading into halftime with a large lead, instead, however, they were trailing by a point at the main break. The Sharks took full advantage of these chances and came out on fire in the third quarter kicking 6.4 to 0.3 to push the lead out to 38 points going into the last term. Doing even more damage in the last, Eley Park kicked seven goals to blow out the margin to 71 points by the final siren. Thanks to their strong win, the Sharks now find themselves in the top four. Jesiah Mcgarvie had another great game in front of goal, booting four. Leigh Booth matched McGarvie’s efforts and slotted four of his own, while Matt Dyson was judged best on ground. For the Tigers, Josh Kyle did his best with three goals as Nicholas Cunningham worked hard all day.

Preview

In game one of Round 12 we’ll see Masala try and get back some of their great form from the last few weeks as they take on Elsternwick at WJ Turner Reserve. Mt Lilydale will not only be trying to get back on the winner’s list but also put an end to the Bull’s unbeaten start to the 2017 season at Allard Park. The Bulls will be certainly hoping for a simple game as they’ll be taking on the third placed Cobras in Round 13 before the Round 14 clash against second-placed Aquinas. The Bloods are certainly eyeing off another percentage booster as they take on eighth placed Parkside at home. To finish the round, St Francis Xavier will take of The Eley Park Sharks at St Francis Xavier College, the Sharks looking for a big win in that one to hold on to their recently acquired fourth spot on the ladder.