Glenroy 13.21-99 def. Hillside 12.7-79
GLENROY silenced its doubters on Saturday.
This loomed as its biggest test yet to prove its worthiness as a genuine contender against Hillside – who was on the rebound.
The Roys passed with flying colours and now look very good at second spot on the Essendon Ford Division 1 ladder.
Yet again Ross Terranova’s men weren’t efficient in front of the sticks and that kept the Sharks in the game.
Scores were level at half time despite the Roys establishing a differential of 16 scoring shots to 11.
But with the help of three majors from captain Travis Dulic and Josh Trembearth, Glenroy was simply too potent for the out-of-form Sharks.
Jackson Volpato and Joel Bonnici each kicked two for Hillside.
Westmeadows 10.10-70 def. by Airport West 13.17-95
Rain was forecast for Saturday but with blue skies and sunshine overhead, Westmeadows would have been looking forward to a dry deck on home soil against a fellow Essendon Ford Division 1 contender.
Only issue was, they were ideal conditions for a hot Airport West outfit, too.
The Eagles continued their winning streak with another impressively-consistent display, managing to stay ahead of the Tigers all day to eventually win by 25 points in a solid Willowbrook hit-out.
Simply put, Airport West has its mojo back after two years in the doldrums of Strathmore Community Bank Premier Division.
Tyson Young was the star with seven majors and the experienced heads of Clayton Rogers, Steven Rizzo and the McVeigh brothers are all back to their best.
Westmeadows was simply outclassed.
Not even a solid five-goal contribution from Mitch Church was enough to keep the Tigers in the game.
Oak Park 14.10-94 def. Taylors Lakes 12.11-83
On paper it was a coin flip but for three quarters at JP Fawkner on Saturday, it looked like the coin had landed in Taylors’ Lakes favour.
The Lions came into the game off a three-game winning streak that had them inside the top four and full of confidence.
They took that to a struggling Oak Park outfit early with Luke Hodgkin and Matt Morelli controlling things through midfield.
By three-quarter time the Lions held a 14-point lead and on a windless Melbourne day, looked as though they would stretch their winning streak to four.
But Michael Hooper’s men decided enough was enough.
Oak Park hasn’t really fired so far this season and want to be part of the finals conversation.
Games like this are the ones the Kangaroos need to win in such an even division.
With Aden Harris firing up forward and skipper Jack Pascu patrolling the midfield, Oak Park managed to storm home in the final term with five goals to one and get their season back on track.
East Keilor 31.17-203 def. Hadfield 4.8-32
The jungle drums are now beating at Hadfield.
If ever the Hawks had a sniff of pinching a win in this competition, this was their chance – at least according to the exposed form-line.
But by quarter time at Overland Reserve, it was clear that the Cougars weren’t going to allow Hadfield a chance.
Playing co-coaches Nick Grigg (who kicked 12 goals and is now Essendon Ford Division 1’s leading goal kicker) and Ash Arrowsmith both stood up and led by example.
Luke Kennedy’s five-goal contribution only added to the pain and ultimately injected a handy boost into East Keilor’s surprisingly healthy percentage of 115.67.
Hadfield has now already conceded 200 points in three games this season and are now odds on to go back down to Strathmore Community Bank Division 2.
But the more telling statistic is that Hadfield has already used 40 different players in their five senior games so far this season.
