PASCOE VALE 13.11-89 def. STRATHMORE 11.9-75
KNOWING that they were locked into the top four and couldn’t really do much else with their season, Strathmore were able to play a few new faces against Pascoe Vale on the weekend to help in their development, as well as freshen up their best.
However, credit must go to Pascoe Vale, who came out of the gates firing, kicking seven goals to none in the first quarter to set the tone for the rest of the match.
From here the pace slowed, and Strathmore were able to claw back the margin, however, it was already too late as Pascoe Vale were able to keep possession of the football and stay in control of the game for the final three quarters.
Panthers forward Josh Cauchi was too slippery for the Mores defenders, kicking four goals while at the other end, young gun Luke Holian kicked two good goals and featured himself in the best.
WEST COBURG 9.12-66 def. by ABERFELDIE 14.10-94
West Coburg showed plenty of heart on the weekend.
Being the penultimate round, they came out hot against the dominant Aberfeldie side who have been good all year and made it an interesting game.
With not much to play for West Coburg easily could have got rolled by a huge margin, however they came within reach of Aberfeldie and didn’t put the cue in the rack.
Liam Bowkett had a blinder for the home side with three goals and getting best-on.
However, the slick Josh Toy led the charge of Aberfeldie and dominated in front of goal and around the ground, with help from teammate Zach Hislop, who hasn’t done much wrong all year.
Aberfeldie will go into the finals confident with a cemented second spot and double chance.
MARIBYRNONG PARK 21.13-139 def. ESSENDON DOUTTA STARS 14.13-97
Essendon Doutta Stars were no match for Maribyrnong Park on the weekend, going down by quite a margin.
The Lions defeated the Stars by 42 points at Maribyrnong Park on the weekend.
A strong third quarter saw them break away from Essendon Doutta Stars who were hot on their tail until then, they just couldn’t finish off strong enough.
The win for Maribyrnong Park slots them above Strathmore now in third place on the ladder, as they look very dangerous and ready for a strong finals campaign.
For the Lions, Cameron Lee had another good game with five goals to his name, while Will Martiniello was getting plenty of the ball around the ground, while also being strong in front of goals.
Yet again, Jedd Clothier put his name in the best, making it the third week in a row.
KEILOR 18.11-119 def. AVONDALE HEIGHTS 12.13-85
After losing the first quarter, Avondale Heights were able to fight their way back to within a goal going into the long break against Keilor on the weekend.
However, Keilor proved too strong as they broke away in the third and ran out the rest of the game, defeating the Heights by 34 points.
Last time they met it was a different story as the Heights took home the points in a good win.
The game was a shoot-out with both key forwards, Dean Galea and Patrick Rose, kicking 13 goals between them and really making it hard for defenders at both ends of the ground.
Andrew Browne was best for Keilor with a great game while Justin Morris tried to get his team over the line with a standout performance.
GREENVALE 29.8-182 def. CRAIGIEBURN 1.3-9
With the season coming to an end in a round’s time, Craigieburn got the wrong end of the stick as they had to play Greenvale, at Greenvale, which was always going to make attaining their first win tough.
And tough, it was.
Greenvale kicked seven unanswered goals in the first quarter and from there on it was a downhill battle for Craigieburn.
The plan to shut down Addam Maric was clearly too much of a task as he kicked six times the score of Craigieburn, with nine goals to his name.
However, those nine goals weren’t enough to see him get best-on for the Jet with Fabian Deluca taking it off his hands.
Samuel Laffan was Craigieburn’s only goal kicker for the day and Brent Gordon stood up for the second week in a row to try and make something out of the game.
The Jets are looking dangerous going into finals, and Craigieburn has one round left to get on the winner’s list.
