Nobbers saved, Yarra back on track

Anna Pavlou

Wild, windy and wet footy was on the agenda for Round 12 as each side battled the sun, the rain, hail and mud. Whitefriars went on to collect their 11th win of the year, the Nobbers escaped a tight tussle and Bulleen brought the fire. Yarra Old Grammarians finally put another win on the board in a great game.

Brunswick FC vs MHSOB

In a battle closer than expected, Brunswick have come out to snatch victory from MHSOB by nine points.

Brunswick were held scoreless in the first quarter as the Unicorns piled on 21 points to keep their distance going into the second quarter. But the second-placed Nobbers refused to give up, coming out and playing hard, contested footy and closing the gap to trail by only 6 points at the main break.

Sean Gales booted an early goal for the Nobbers to level the scores in the final term, making it a tighter contest than expected. Then, Michael O’Donoghue from the Nobbers booted a crucial major to give his side the lead.

The mighty return of star Unicorn James Tran (1 goal) was the shining light for his side, alongside Lachie Whittaker. For the winners, Jed Carey was strong.

Bulleen Templestowe vs Power House

A tight early tussle between Power House and Bulleen eventually saw the Bullants prevail by 71 points in a dominant second-half performance.

The House came out early with the wind and booted two early goals but were wasteful and missed another five shots before quarter time.

The Bullants did not make the same errors in front of goal as the House and worked hard to push out to a 30-point half time lead.

The House came out refreshed at the start of the third, but the composure from Bulleen’s middle men kept them ahead. The final term saw a domination from a well-poised Bulleen outfit, who were too strong in the end.

This win is vital for the Bullants, as they keep their season in check. Jack Cowell booted four majors and was ably supported by stalwart Kristian Cherbakof in this strong win.

The House showed spurts of excitement with goals from Harry Phelan (2) and Adam Collett (2), and 15–gamer Steve Devine was awarded BOG.

Hawthorn vs Whitefriars

The Whitefriars continue on their merry way as they defeated Hawthorn by 153 points at Rathmines Reserve.

An undermanned Hawthorn struggled like every other side has this season against an in-form Whitefriars. It was a one-sided game from the beginning, with the Hawks defense struggling in the first quarter, allowing the Friars to boot 43 points, while holding the Hawks to seven.

Hawthorn booted one goal in the final term to finish off but it’s hard to compete against arguably the best in D2.

Kristian Height had six majors to his name for the Friars, with support coming from Marlon Simbolon.

Joseph Murfet booted one major and was named best for the Hawks.

Yarra Old Grammarians vs Ivanhoe

A 16-point win for Yarra Old Grammarians puts them back on track for the back end of the 2019 season as they defeated Ivanhoe at home.

Ivanhoe were held goalless in the first term, while Yarra booted two early. It was a low scoring tussle with wind and wild rain holding both sides back from dominating.

The mighty return of Luke Barker for the Bushrangers was a big help for the middle of the table side.

Jacko Ford kicked two late goals to seal victory for the Bushrangers and Matt Young was awarded BOG votes, as they went on to collect the 4 points.

The Yarra boys dominated in front of goal, but didn’t kick straight, meaning their percentage wasn’t boosted like they would have preferred.

This game could have been high scoring, but again, a lot of misses were costly for the winner’s percentage and didn’t truly reflect their early domination.

For Ivanhoe, Conor Mitchell was awarded best, with Sam Tansley booting one major.