Top 4 flex muscles, extending their ladder ascendancy

Round 8 saw no surprises as the top four continued their rampage with dominant wins across the board. A fourth placed Hampton Rovers now sits two games clear of Mazenod in fifth, as the bottom six sides face an uphill challenge in the second half of the season to climb the ladder should they wish to have a crack at finals contention.

AJAX recorded a significant 82-point victory over Mazenod, which keeps their percentage strong, competing with a tight top order. Mazenod had a good start with the first two goals of the game, but the home side quickly retaliated with the next four majors to see themselves with a 16-point lead at quarter-time.

Things only worsened for the visitors in the second as the Jackas produced an 11-goal onslaught, with accuracy their virtue early on; 3 of those majors coming off the boot of Toby Sheezel to take a 57-point advantage into the main break.

Interestingly, AJAX went quiet in the third quarter, while Mazenod saw an opportunity to take back control, kicking 3 goals to narrow the margin. However, once again the final quarter belonged to AJAX with scoring shots aplenty kicking 7.8 to Mazenod’s 1.1. Inaccuracy from the home side in the late stages prevented the annihilation from being that much more damaging.

Richie Simon continued his stellar form with another 5 goals, which sees him chomping at the heels of Mitch Brown on the competitions leading goal kicker tally. Reece Israel, Aaron Bryer and Brad Caplan had influence around the ground for the home side, whilst Damian Byrne, Mitchel D’Angelo and Shaun Lovell each managed two goals for Mazenod and were best on in a tough loss.

Glen Eira/Old McKinnon held onto a narrow 13-point victory over the Monash Blues in a tightly contested match-up. Whilst the Gryphons were the better side throughout the day, particularly in the first half, Monash didn’t go down without a fight and kept the pressure on until the final siren.

The first quarter was low-scoring with one goal apiece, but it was the Gryphons who broke away in the second to lead by 9-points at half-time. The Blues had their chances in the second term to build a lead but inaccuracy in front of the big sticks proved costly for the home side.

Both sides kept each other well matched in the third quarter with the 9-point Gryphons lead enduring at the final change. Heading into the fourth quarter, it was clear that every scoring shot would matter. Monash kicked the first two goals to provide them with some hope, however, the Gryphons fired back to get over the line and record their third win of the season.

The Hampton Rovers defeated Marcellin by 77 points at Trevor Barker. The Rovers had a brilliant start with four goals to one in the first quarter. Their dominance continued in the second term, manufacturing a 42-point lead by half-time.

Marcellin’s effort was rewarded in the third quarter as they contained the Rovers, only allowing them to kick three goals to their two, however, the Rovers ran away with it in the final term with six goals to comfortably get over the line.

Hampton’s skipper Christian Carnovale was back to his playing best, whilst young gun Joshua Docking had a standout performance with 3 goals and was rewarded with a Rising Star nomination. Jack Pekin and Elias Stapleton fought valiantly for Marcellin whilst Liam Atherton was their only dual goal scorer for the day.

This was an important game for both sides with the Rovers looking to compete with the top three sides while Marcellin were searching for their third win. Whilst this was a comfortable victory for the Rovers, inaccuracy has proven to be their vice this season, having scored more behinds than goals in nearly every match. In a tightly contested ladder, the impact on their percentage could prove costly of breaking into the top two come finals season.

Old Carey had a brilliant day out, demolishing Oakleigh by 184 points in a day to forget for the Krushers. The damage was done in the first quarter as Old Carey notched up a 50-point lead by quarter time, extending that to 93-points by the main break.

Oakleigh managed a goal in the third quarter, but it was little respite as Old Carey kicked seven goals in the third term. The assault on the scoreboard came from 12 individual goal scorers for Carey, while their defensive effort was also commendable, restricting the Krushers to just two majors.

The home side continued to boost their percentage right up until the final siren to finish just 3 points shy of cracking 200, in what was a tough day at the office for the winless Oakleigh.

Riley Thompson continued his stellar form with five goals for Old Carey, ably assisted by Jack Alexander, Trent Warren and Mitchell Wooffindin who each slotted four, while Thomas Horton was name best afield. At the other end Jackson McCahon led from the front in an uphill battle, whilst Luke Ashen and Tim Scott were responsible for hitting the scoreboard.

In what was perhaps the most anticipated match-up of the weekend, the Parkdale Vultures defeated PEGS by 20 points. Whilst the Vultures were the better side throughout the match by way of the scoreboard, PEGS brought pressure to the contest and were hungry for the footy. Their effort was evident.

Whilst PEGS put up a fight in the second half, ultimately, it was the Vultures who walked away with the four points to record their sixth consecutive win. Mitchell Baker-West, Blake Roach and Oscar Bales were among the best players for PEGS, whilst Harry Kilfoyle, Jarrod Peake and Cooper Howell starred for Parkdale.

Round 9 will see all sides fresh off the mid-season bye ready to make an impact in the second half of the season. It will be difficult to knock off any of the current top four teams, however if the results in Premier C have taught us anything this season, it’s that anything is possible.

The Hampton Rovers host Glen Eira/Old McKinnon. This will be an important game for the Rovers as they look to climb higher on the ladder, currently one win behind third spot.

PEGS host Marcellin in what should be a close game with both sides relatively well-matched. PEGS have the upper hand being one game clear of Marcellin, however, hold a 1-4 record at home this year which they’d be keen to improve.

The Parkdale Vultures host Old Carey in what shapes as an intriguing match-up between 1^st and 2^nd. Expecting a high-scoring match here.

Meanwhile, Mazenod will meet the Monash Blues as the Blues look to climb from ninth spot, and Oakleigh, yet to record a win, face a tough assignment against AJAX.