Big wins, big impacts with four weeks left to play

Round 14 of Division 4 Men’s opened up with Masala looking to secure a spot in the finals as they took on Box Hill North. With the rain starting to fall, the Tigers got a strong start over the Demons leading to a 5-goal to 1 first quarter. The Tigers would then double their lead after a 7 to 2 second half to go into the major break with a 57-point lead.

The second half saw the rainfall heavy as both teams struggled to make a major impact on the scoreboard in the third quarter with Masala kicking 4 goals whilst keeping the Demons goalless to extend their lead out to 82 points. The final quarter saw the Tigers add on another 4 goals whilst Box Hill kicked 1. In the end, it was Masala that took the win by 106 points after a dominant 4-quarter display.

The best for the Tigers were Declan Fowler, Dale Gibb and James Dekel. The best for the Demons were Peter Cassidy-Marsh, Sean Donovan and Beau Parthenides. Masala’s leading goal kickers in their major win were Declan Fowler (10 goals), Karan Singh (2 goals), Anthony Dorrington (2 goals) and Brandon Kelly (2 goals). Goal kickers for the Dees included Eugene Charles (2 goals), Jordan Gasparini (1 goal) and Andrew Doxey (1 goal).

Masala will now look to continue their winning ways as they take on an always formidable Albert Park outfit. Box Hill North will look to rebound as they take on Eley Park in what will be a close match.

In the second match of the round, Albert Park took on St John’s in a match that would shape the end of the season. St John’s came out playing how they left off kicking 6 goals in the first quarter whilst only allowing one Falcons goal to take an early 27-point lead. The second term saw Albert Park hold a slight advantage winning the quarter 3 goals to 2 and narrowing the lead to 22 points with a half of football to play.

The third quarter was defensive and competitive with both teams adding on 2 goals resulting in The JOCs maintaining their 3 goal lead with 25 minutes of football left to play. The final quarter saw both teams fail to capitalise in front of goal with both teams only combining for 1 goal from 9 scoring shots. Despite that being a goal for the Falcons it wasn’t enough to defeat the JOCs who left with a 17-point win and a guaranteed place in the finals whilst for the Falcons, all games are now must wins if they are to reach the top 4.

The best for the Falcons included Daniel Young, Sam Lee and William Marshall whilst the best for the JOCs were Jarrod Ely, Rohan Scott and Nicholas Terrill. Jack Lee was the major goal kicker for the Falcons with 4 goals whilst other contributors were Jack Amies (1 goal), Tyson Cattle (1 goal) and Brett Tottenham (1 goal). Nicholas Terrill kicked 4 goals for the JOCs with other goal kickers including Corey Ely (1 goal), Benjamin Ayache (1 goal) and Steven Sullivan (1 goal).

Albert will take on Masala in what is a must-win match for the Falcons. St John’s will have the bye in round 15 before coming back to take on Swinburne in round 16

The final match of the round saw La Trobe take on Eley Park in what had the potential to be a real tale of division 4’s ‘David vs Goliath’. The Goliaths got off to the best start possible kicking 9 goals whilst keeping the Sharks goalless. The second quarter saw La Trobe bring that same energy adding on another 7 goals whilst Eley Park was able to find the goals only once leading to a 99-point La Trobe lead at halftime.

The third quarter saw Eley Park start to find their way after kicking 3 goals for the quarter however La Trobe still managed to control the game kicking 8 goals of their own to 131 points. The final quarters were all La Trobe’s as they added on 7 final quarter goals whilst managing to keep Eley Park scoreless for the quarter. In the end, it was the Goliath’s that won out in the end by a mammoth 178 points, the second biggest win of the season.

The best for La Trobe were Riley Alexander, Harrison Tanner and Matthew Ogle. The best for the Sharks were Shannon Blewitt, Ben Field and Luke Wakeling. La Trobe had 12 individual goal kickers with major contributors being Matthew Ogle (7 goals), Riley Alexander (5 goals), Joshua Rogerson (5 goals) and Tate Spiteri (4 goals). Eley Parks’ goal kickers included Tom Johnston (2 goals), Daniel Smith (1 goal) and Christopher Roberts (1 goal).

La Trobe will now face Swinburne at home, a team that they defeated quite comfortably in their previous meeting but a team that has significantly improved. Eley Park will look to find their winning ways again as they take on Box Hill North at home.

Swinburne who had the bye will now take on the division’s toughest in La Trobe away.