Demolition Derby in Division One

Josh Heriot

It was a weekend of demolition jobs in division one with every winning side kicking 15 or more goals. Out at Packer Park, Glen Eira secured the biggest victory of the round with a 130-point win over St Mary’s Salesian. For the Gryphons, it was the usual suspects who dominated the game with Alex Erwin-Ross kicking seven goals for the afternoon. Likewise, Callum Drenth also had a busy afternoon in front of the big sticks with five majors to his name. The Gryphons finished with nine individual goal kickers to round out a complete performance as they look to build momentum in the run to finals with one round remaining. Meanwhile, the winless St Mary’s will head to their home ground this Saturday as they face Old Peninsula in what will be their final chance to secure that elusive win.

At Toorak Park, Kew accounted for Prahran Assumption with a 61-point win. Kew led at every break and finished with 10 individual goal kickers for the afternoon, six of whom kicked 2 goals for more. The final round, however, will be the deciding round for a top two position with Kew facing Old Camberwell who currently sit fourth. If Kew are to win this Saturday, it will mean they remain in second position but Glen Eira who sit third will still be jumping out of the blocks to try and catch them.

Meanwhile, Oakleigh had a comfortable win over Whitefriars. It was Whitefriars who started well, leading at the first break by 11 points and then sticking with Oakleigh to trail by only nine points at half-time. The second half, however, saw Oakleigh open the gap and in the end, they showed their class to win by 47 points. A generous effort from Daniel Wood saw him kick six goals for Whitefriars but at the opposite forward line, a familiar name was also hitting targets. Aaron Cloke booted home seven goals to be best on ground for Oakleigh. His performance on the weekend brings him to 73 goals for the season with one final round to come. Round 18 will see Oakleigh face the standout team of 2022 in PEGS out at the PEGS Sporting Fields.

Speaking of PEGS, the ladder leaders faced off against Therry Penola. A fairly one-sided affair saw PEGS break away in the first quarter as they progressed their way to a 66-point win. Once again, Riley Simmons was able to hit the scoreboard as he registered five majors to his name with teammate Jordan Erougian bobbing up to kick four. With top spot all but locked away, PEGS will clearly have their focus on finals where they will be looking to repel off the momentum generated in.the back-half of this season.

In what was meant to be the final game of the round in division one, Inclement weather forced Old Camberwell Grammarians and Old Peninsula’s game to be cancelled. Harry McDonald Oval was looking more like an Olympic swimming pool after fierce storms swept their way across Melbourne suburbs. Lightning, wind and heavy rain greeted Melbourne on Saturday with a number of games also needing to follow suit including Old Xaverians and Old Trinity in Premier division.

The final round of division one will see results swing the ladder in a number of different ways. All eyes will be on Whitefriars and Old Peninsula who will be fighting to stay in division one. Although they’re not playing each other, supporters will be scrambling to check results come 5pm on Saturday. Likewise, at the top end of the ladder, a top two spot is still up for the taking with Glen Eira hunting down Kew and then Oakleigh will need to have everything go their way with the door for finals only slightly ajar.

There’s no doubt it will be a fantastic weekend of footy so sit tight and enjoy the final home and away round of division one.