Panthers pull off upset, Monders annihilate OGs

Jack Keleher

In the upset of the year so far, Old Mentonians travelled to Boss James Reserve and walked away shock victors beating Hampton by four points. Old Mentone had won just two games (against the winless UHS-VU and Preston) entering round six, while Hampton is the top-scoring team in the league having got within four points of Monash and boasting an impressive win against Ormond. However, at half-time, the Panthers found themselves down by only nine points. With Smith out, Hampton was having trouble scoring, but they were able to put together a strong third quarter to give themselves a 15-point lead entering the final break. An early Chris Perkins goal gave the Rovers a 21-point lead eight minutes into the fourth, and then it was all Mentone to the tune of five straight goals. A late goal from Hampton was not enough as the Panthers kept the pressure on walking away with the win. Replacing Smith in the midfield, James Prosser was elite for the Rovers while his captain in the middle Christian Carnovale chipped in three majors. Lewis Oliver continued his terrific form down back, holding Max Coughlin (who was averaging over three goals a game to that point) goalless. Jai Florent was everywhere for Mentone in a best on ground performance. Hampton will face a tough Mazenod outfit this week. Old Mentone will look to keep the momentum up when they host Old Ivanhoe. 

Old Ivanhoe made tough work of the winless UHS-VU when they walked away 21-point victors. Wasteful in the first, the Hoers had seven scoring shots to one but only held an eleven-point lead. The Vultures were up for the fight, using terrific ball skills and tackling to only trail by seven points at half-time. In the second half, despite a terrific effort from a UHS-VU team that refuses to give in, the Hoers were able to ride the midfield dominance created by the great games of Samuel Wilcox and Jake Bradley to outscore the Vultures seven goals to five to walk out victors. The Vultures defence, led by the great play of the running Ayui Makiemg, held the dangerous Mitris/Skok/Velluto attack to only one goal combined and should ride that momentum when they take on Preston in an absolute must win game for both winless sides if they want to stay in Premier C. Old Ivanhoe will travel to face the red hot Old Mentone who are looking to use their win against Hampton to propel their season forward. 

In what was touted to be the match of the round, Ormond flexed its muscles in an absolute annihilation of Old Geelong to the tune of 93 points. From the first siren, the Monders’ mids were on top winning the contested ball and kicking goal after goal from stoppages. When the Oggers had the wind in the second, Ormond’s defence led by Jeremy Simon, Matthew Oaten and Mason Martinez took intercept mark after intercept mark making life hell for the Oggers’ forward line. Dae Szydlik had his way off half-back in a best on ground performance, while Jack Mason provided plenty of pressure all day. Matthew Kirkwood was the Oggers’ best, while Toby Lever made his 2021 debut in style kicking three. Old Geelong will have the opportunity to put this one behind them when they host a constantly competitive Marcellin team. Ormond will face Monash in a top of the table clash that stands to be a classic.  

Monash continued their unbeaten start to 2021 beating Marcellin by 10 points at Frearson Oval. While the Blues were wasteful in front of goal, the Eagles clearly had come to play and a strong half from star midfielder Patrick Howe meant Marcellin were only down by five points at half-time. In the second half, the Eagles could not stop big MacGregor Cameron’s influence both in the ruck and around the ground as he, along with forward Mitch King and in-form mid Beau Harris, had Monash up by 21 points going into the last. The fourth quarter was all Marcellin, as in his 200^th game, Jonathan Blanch tried to will his team to victory. Despite a terrific defensive display, the Eagles could not quite get the job done in the end despite Jeremiah Antypas impressing with three goals on the day. The Eagles will travel to Como Park to face the wounded Old Geelong hungry to make a stand after their decimation on the weekend. Monash will host Ormond in a battle of the two top teams, and defences in the league. Can Ormond stop the dominance of Cameron? Can Suckling and the Buckleys send Ormond to the top of the ladder? We will see…. 

In our final game of the round, Mazenod walked away 69-point winners against Preston at W.R. Ruthven Reserve. It was blowing down at Preston last Saturday and starting with the wind the Nodders were able to get out to a 28-point lead after the first. However, they found it a lot more difficult in the second as the Bullants piled on four goals to the Nodders’ one. From there, the Mazenod defence stood tall and held the Bullants to only two goals for the rest of the game. Liam Sutton was terrific all day for Preston while Jackson Curic continued his great form kicking three on the day. Nick Pascuzzi bagged four again for Mazenod (eight in the last two games) while wingman Jack Sullivan was best on ground. The Nodders welcomed back Big V 2019 B-D4 representative Tom Warby who was also in the best. Mazenod will look to keep the gravy train going when they host Hampton this week. Someone will get their first win for 2021 this year, and the Bullants will hope it is them when they host the relentless UHS-VU.