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Damien Cavka and Corey Ellis were among a swathe of performers for Keilor who downed the reigning premiers in Strathmore by 73 points, despite question marks over their outgoing experience.
They ran over the top of the Mores with a 10-goal-to-one second half, dominating inside and outside with the classy additions of Cavka and Ellis in the engine room proving to add a real difference to the depth of each side’s midfield.
With Kane Barbuto a late out, highly-touted 17-year-old Keighton Matofai-Forbes got a run and slotted four majors, fitting in seamlessly to Mick McGuane’s well-drilled Keilor outfit.
“When we looked at the demographic of how we want to play against this mob today with the personnel they didn’t have, we felt we needed another hybrid forward who could compliment (Matthew) Clark and Jay White,” McGuane told EDFL Match of the Day post game.
“We felt we could get an advantage with how we positioned him and we could get the right matchups at various stages of the game.”
Strathmore coach Marty Allison told EDFL Match of the Day post game that despite leading by four points at quarter time, there were concerns over some of the key performance measures.
“We were getting beaten at the source, beaten in the uncontested footy, someone once said that in the darkness of crisis comes opportunity.
I said to the players after the game that we’ve got to take our medicine, we’ve got to learn from it, and I know that we’ll improve.”
New Craigieburn coach Shane Jacobs established his belief that his list is better than what people might think it is, and they made a statement on Good Friday knocking off finals contenders Roxburgh Park in the Battle of the Bridge.
It was an 11-point victory in a blow-for-blow battle at DS Aitken Reserve with the final margin the highest of any of the breaks.
Jake Carlisle managed to get on the park for his first game in Craigieburn colours, booting two goals alongside Stephen Tsonas and returning two-time premiership player Sam Laffan.
Sole Craigieburn representative Jamie Gorgievski was named the Eagles’ best, while on the side of the equation, Team of the Year half forward Cooper McPharlane finished two goals in his Roxy debut.
Coach Micheal Farrelly detailed Harley Short’s pre-season as the strongest in his time at the club, and was named his side’s best alongside Roxy stalwarts Ryan Micallef, Jack Elliot, and reigning club best and fairest winner Luke Reichelt.
It was a dominant performance from start to end by Hillside who kicked off their 2023 campaign with a 67-point victory over Keilor Park in their first game in Rookie Me Division One following their promotion after last season’s Division Two grand final triumph.
Keilor Park finished with five goals and 10 behinds on what was initially a typically blustery day at Shark Park, and though a perfect day in front of goals would still not have gotten them a victory, they were still able to find avenues and give themselves looks inside forward 50.
Oscar Sasalu was one of their best performers following a pre-season with Werribee, slotting two goals, while Jarod Pontin, Tyler Killick, and Jordan Filakis were equally valuable.
For Hillside, Josh Covelli picked up where he left off as the Rookie Me Division One leading goal scorer with four majors, while new recruit Anthony Prestia helped straighten the Sharks up with three of his own.
Coach Charlie Denaro expected big seasons out of Tristan Rudic, Bailey Ryan, and Zak Wunhym, and they all started the season strongly on Friday.
Preceding the men’s action on Friday, the formlines of Oak Park and Hillside remained consistent from 2022 with the Kangaroos rolling to a big 49-point victory over the Sharks.
Leading comfortably at all changes and restricting Hillside to just one goal, Oak Park had 16 scoring shots to finish 8.8, with Airport Toyota Women’s Premier Division goal scoring runner up Samantha German kicking three goals alongside star recruit Alex Quigley.
Hillside will be hoping they’ll be able to see more of their VFLW-listed players as they look to recapture their 2021 form which saw them finish second in the shortened season.
The recently promoted Strathmore put the Airport Toyota Women’s Premier Division on notice after defeating the reigning premiers Keilor by four points under lights at Joe Brown Oval on Friday evening.
With the rain coming down right on the first siren, it was a slog fest with Keilor unable to capitalise on their early ascendancy on the scoreboard, registering six of the seven behinds in the first quarter.
Recognising their position in the game, the Mores were able to hit the front after halftime and hold their lead until the final siren, brilliantly led by 2022 Division One best and fairest winner Eloise Freeman.
Keilor will be ruing their missed opportunities in front of goal, but it’s far from panic stations for the Blues.
