Panthers Confirm Flag Contender Status In Raeburn Thriller
PASCOE Vale scored the most important win of its season in an EDFL Match of the Day thriller on Saturday.
The Panthers found themselves 25 points down at half time against Aberfeldie but steadied in the third quarter to get back into the contest.
In a tight tussle, both sides threw everything on the line in front of a packed Raeburn Reserve crowd in the final term.
With scores deadlocked well beyond the 30-minute mark, Pacco needed a hero and the eventual RAWFORM Seamless Compression Player of the Day rose to the occasion.
Michael Ross kicked the telling final goal of the game – handing the Panthers a confidence-boosting six-point win.
While taking the L, Aberfeldie didn’t lose any admirers with close to a dozen top-liners missing from the side, eight of which played in last year’s grand final win over Greenvale.
Aberfeldie slipped down to fifth spot on the ladder while the Panthers are now third.
Final: Pascoe Vale 12.10-82 def. Aberfeldie 11.10-76
Galea, Maric Sink Strathmore At Lebanon
IVAN Maric made his senior Keilor debut and had an immediate impact in the Blues’ 19-point win over Strathmore on Saturday.
Keilor’s fast start at Mascoma Street proved too much for Strathmore to overcome and inaccurate kicking plagued the home side when the game was on the line in the final term.
Tom Condon (two goals), Alex Grima (two) and Luke Jarrad all battled manfully but the Blues had too much class on the day, with Maric named among the bests with a goal to his name alongside best-on-ground Dean Galea, who kicked three early goals to set the tone for the day.
Keilor moved to third spot for the first time since Round 4, while Strathmore remains sixth, but just one win outside the four.
Final: Strathmore 8.13-61 def. by Keilor 11.14-80
Roys Likely Safe After Polishing Off Burgers At City Oval
GLENROY may have ensured safety from relegation with its most important win for the year at Coburg City Oval.
The Roys welcomed back Travis Dulic and Aaron Kite and were able to establish control over an undermanned West Coburg outfit to score a comfortable 42-point win – their third for the season.
In difficult conditions, Glenroy’s back line held firm to only allow five West Coburg goals for the game, while up the other end Jayden Walker, Matt Walker, Kite and Adam Del Busso all kicked two goals.
Jayden Walker was named best-on-ground.
Despite losing its Round 1 clash to the Burgers, Glenroy is the one that looks to be safe from the drop, now three wins clear of winless Essendon Doutta Stars.
West Coburg will need to take care of business at NJO in Round 13 to ensure another year in Strathmore Community Bank Premier Division in 2019.
Final: West Coburg 5.7-37 def. by Glenroy 11.13-79
Eagles Level On Wins Total At Top Of Division One Ladder
DEAN Limbach and Mitch Church put on a show in what was arguably the best Essendon Ford Division 1 game for the year on Saturday.
Both forwards kicked seven goals in a game that became a shoot-out in conditions not quite conducive of high scoring.
The Sharks looked the goods early in the contest with a scintillating 10-goal-to-five first half but the undermanned Eagles emerged from the sheds after half time and mounted an unlikely comeback.
With Limbach on fire up forward and Damien Bugeja producing his second successive best-on-ground performance, Craigieburn stormed its way back into the contest with seven goals to three in the third term, before adding seven more in the last to emerge victorious by 27 points.
With the Demons going down to Oak Park, the Eagles now find themselves level on seven wins with ladder leaders Airport West and Tullamarine.
The Sharks are clinging onto fourth spot with a tricky Oak Park clash up next before a monster rivalry game away to Taylors Lakes - which will be that weekend’s EDFL Match of the Day radio game.
Final: Hillside 15.11-101 def. by Craigieburn 19.14-128
Division One Unpredictable As Ever
ESSENDON Ford Division 1 gave us some unlikely results on Saturday, leaving many pundits scratching their heads in what is fast becoming yet another amazing home-and-away season for the EDFL’s second-tier competition.
Just seven days removed from dismantling the then undefeated ladder leader in Airport West, Tullamarine had a huge letdown on Saturday away to Oak Park.
The Kangaroos are on a three-game winning streak after easily accounting for the Demons at JP Fawkner Reserve, with the returning Alex Gleeson slamming through seven goals in his first senior game for the year.
Sam Anchen (three goals), Blair Cronin (three) and Mitch Robinson (best-on-ground) all played crucial roles in the surprise 35-point win that might not only have ensured safety from relegation, but also kept the Kangaroos in the finals hunt – now just two games and percentage back from the current top four.
Tullamarine was without Anthony Prestia, Dean Bartrop and Jonathan Hardman, who all played in the Demons’ Round 9 win over Airport West.
Final: Oak Park 17.7-109 def. Tullamarine 10.14-74
Meanwhile East Keilor is also enjoying a mid-season resurgence after beating Taylors Lakes in an Overland Reserve thriller.
Read Liam McAllion’s match report here.
Final: East Keilor 12.16-88 def. Taylors Lakes 12.11-83
Finally, North Melbourne premiership player Corey McKernan marked his comeback to competitive footy with three goals in Westmeadows’ 43-point win over an improving but still winless Jacana.
The margin was only 11 points at three-quarter time, before the Tigers kicked clear in the final term to move their win-loss to 3-6... likely ensuring them safety from the drop.
Final: Westmeadows 15.13-103 def. Jacana 9.6-60
Lions Beat Bears, Put Dent In Heights’ Finals Hopes
COBURG Districts stayed in touch with the Strathmore Community Bank Division 2 top four with a somewhat comfortable 35-point win over Burnside Heights.
The Lions exacted their revenge after the going down to the Bears at home back in Round 5 and were well-led by the Vesnaver brothers up forward, with Luke kicking three goals and Matthew snaring two.
Justin Blackley was also important as the Lions broke clear in the second and fourth terms, making better use of the scoring end at Tenterfield Drive.
Josh Covelli kicked four for the Bears.
The Lions find themselves just one win outside the top four with two huge games looming against the Northern Saints and East Sunbury.
Final: Burnside Heights 8.5-53 def. by Coburg Districts 13.10-88
Eagles Make It A Double At Shark Park
CRAIGIEBURN is a step closer to securing an EDFL Women’s finals berth after an impressive 18-point win over Hillside at Shark Park on Sunday evening.
In what was the closest EDFL Women’s game of the round, the Eagles had a flying start with three unanswered goals in the opening term and the Sharks could never recover, only mustering up three goals for the game.
Megan Farrell was the star up forward with three goals while Kayla Glazebrook kicked two more to hand Hillside its seventh loss for the year.
The Eagles remain seventh on the ladder, ahead of Strathmore on percentage while Hillside is 10th and facing an uphill battle to make the finals with just three more home-and-away rounds to come.
