Elementary for La Trobe, as Spicy Footy gets hold of the Falcons

Billy Bolch

Round 10 was a great round for those that love high-scoring footy and big goal hauls with tallies of 14, 9, 7, 6, 5 and multiple 4-goal hauls. Round 10 also gave us a glimpse at some of the fixtures we could see come finals whilst setting up an important round 11. 

One of the best matches of the round was the Masala and Albert Park. The Falcons started off the quickest of the two teams getting off to a 2 goal lead. Masala had the chance to take advantage in the second quarter but inaccurate kicking cost the Tigers as the team added on 7 behinds in addition to 3 goals. Albert Park however was able to capitalize as they added another 5 goals in the second quarter to hold an 18-point lead going into the major break. 

The third quarter saw a major change of momentum as the Tigers found their form and kicked 7 goals to the Falcon’s 3. Masala’s break came towards the end of the third when Tiger Noah Scott slotted 2 quick goals to send the Tigers into the final break with a 9-point lead. The final quarter saw both teams take their game to another level. Albert Park took an early lead over the Tigers in what was a goal-for-goal, sea-sawing affair and held on until the final 10 minutes of the game when Masala flicked a switch and kicked 3 unanswered goals to run away with the win.

Masala’s best included Declan Fowler, Shehan Rodrigo and Jake Dunkley. The best for the Falcons were Josh Rennie, Sam Lee and William Marshall. The major goal kicker for Masala was Declan Fowler who added another 9 goals to his impressive season tally, other goal kickers included Noah Scott (2) and Tom Williamson (2). Albert Park’s goal-scoring load was shared around with Jack Lee (4), Brett Tottenham (4), Reece French-Lightfoot (3) & Alistair Lupo (3) contributing to 14 of Albert Parks’ 18 goals.  

Masala will look to bring the same energy as they face another tough opponent in Swinburne. Albert Park on the other hand will look to rebound as they come up against La Trobe.

Swinburne hosted St Johns in what was set to be a potential finals preview. Both teams started quite defensively, it was the Razorbacks who took a narrow 6-point lead into the first break. The second quarter saw a more attacking quarter from both teams however, it was the JOCs that were more hungry as they took the lead heading into the major break. 

The third quarter saw the Razorbacks take charge and turn on their attacking game style as they kicked 5 goals to St Johns’ 2 to regain the lead and go up by 15 points with a quarter to play. It was a final quarter shootout from both teams as a total of 9 goals were kicked. It was the Razorbacks that kicked 5 of those goals whilst the JOC’s kicked 4 leading to an important 23-point win for Swinburne which put them in a good spot as we commence the second half of the season. 

Swinburne’s best were Phillip Wild, Nick Coad, Declan Watts and Zachary Cooke whilst the best for the JOC’s were Nicholas Terrill, Ethan Hope, Rohan Scott and Corey Ely. Swinburne’s goalkicking was led by Nick Coad who added 7 goals to his season tally with other contributors including Joseph Zambelli (3), Samuel Hodges (2) & Zachary Cooke (2). Rohan Scott put in another impressive shift for the JOC’s with 5 goals whilst Jason Naffa (2), Steven Sullivan (2) and Benjamin Ayache (2) added to the scoreboard. 

Swinburne will look to continue this form as they make the trip down to Dandenong to take on an in-form Masala. St Johns will face Box Hill North in what is a must-win game for both sides.

The final match of the round saw La Trobe take on Eley Park in what would be a game where we would either see La Trobe get a huge win or the Sharks navigate their way to another thrilling win. La Trobe got off to a massive start kicking 9 goals to 2 and immediately opening up a dominant 46-point lead. Eley Park needed to find a spark in the second to get back into the game but the spark couldn’t be found as they could only manage 1 goal as La Trobe added on another 7 goals and extended their lead out to 88 points. 

The third quarter saw La Trobe continue to dominate the Sharks with a huge 9-goal third term to take their lead out to a whopping 147 points with a quarter of football still to play. The final term was La Trobe’s statement quarter as they managed to add on 8 goals whilst keeping the Sharks scoreless. In the end, it was La Trobe that dominated the day scoring a whopping 220 points and winning the contest by 200 points. 

La Trobe’s best included Tate Spiteri, Riley Alexander, Liam Walsh and Archie Conboy. The best for the Sharks were James Dowling, Sam Pentney, Brandon Levin and Daniel O’Shea. La Trobe’s major goal kickers for the day were Tate Spiteri (14), Riley Alexander (6), Joshua Rogerson (4), Riley Keath (3) and Bryce Dowler (3). Eley Park’s goal scorers were Tom Johnston, Jacob Baddock and Ben Field.

La Trobe will look to get some wins under their belt before the bye and it begins with a tough matchup against Albert Park. Eley Park will now have the bye before they face an always competitive St Johns opposition. 

Box Hill North who had the bye will now play St Johns at home in an important game for the club.