By Jonty Ralphsmith
Hampton Park has bounced back from a disappointing loss to Murrumbeena with a commanding win over Highett.
The Redbacks won each of the four quarters to post a percentage boosting 19.14 128 to 8.11 59 victory.
After an almost day last weekend, big forward Nathan Carver was able to put it together on Saturday and slot five goals.
Jack Wilson, dropped from the Dandenong Stingrays outfit, played with a point to prove as his partnership with Tanner Stanton on the wing becomes a feature of Hampton Park’s best footy.
Trent Thomas, under an injury cloud coming into the clash, kicked three goals as did Declan Brunnell.
After starting well, Hampton Park was able to carry that momentum forward into the rest of the game with contributions from a more even spread of players.
At Carrum Downs Recreation Reserve, stalwart Michael Henry played his first game since round one and showed his class, leading Doveton to a 9.4 58 to 5.6 36 victory over Skye.
The Doves’ perennial first quarter issues, however, plagued them again, as they were forced to claw back a deficit.
Five third quarter goals in a low-scoring clash proved decisive, giving them a 22-point lead at the last break with Skye unable to get a look in a wet final quarter slog-fest.
Henry returned from an injury sustained in round one and showed his class and decision making with ball in hand while Dylan Chapman took another step towards his best footy.
Blake Treble, Jarrod Sullivan and Jackson Chapman led the way for the Bombers.
Keysborough, meanwhile, went down by seven points to East Malvern.
It was a game Keysborough needed to win to clear two games away from bottom-placed Black Rock and the doorstep of relegation.
After East Malvern kicked three goals to one in the first quarter, there was only five goals more kicked between the teams all day.
The Burra kept East Malvern goalless in the second and third quarters to lead by two points at the final break, before East Malvern kicked the last two goals of the game.
Meanwhile, in Division One, Springvale Districts got a reality check against 2022 runners up Cheltenham.
The Demons came into the contest with four wins from five games – but those positive results all came against sides sitting below them on the ladder.
Districts’ two matches against formidable opposition have yielded a 46-point loss (Dingley) and a 38 point loss (Cheltenham).
The hosts managed just one goal in the first half before playing with spirit thereafter.
At the Peanut Farm in St Kilda, Dingley got a comfortable win to keep its season rollicking along.
League medallist Lucas Walmsley was classy as ever with ball in hand, while gun Nathan Freeman was cautiously held over for another week as he nurses an abductor injury.
Defender Alex Windhager played a strong role on former AFL player Aaron Edwards, keeping him goalless until three quarter time.
Edwards kicked three majors in the final quarter when the game was sewn up which coach Zach Horsley attributed to team defence breaking down.
Adam Peacock was also influential in shutting down St Kilda City’s Luke Potts.
The Dingoes have now won five games on the bounce and possess the second best percentage in the league as the shift in style has been instilled successfully.
The reserves, meanwhile, have won just two of their six games but two of the losses have been by a point and they have the fourth best percentage in the 10-team competition.
That’s important because players such as Rory Wallace, Tom Murphy, Zac White and Josh O’Neill will be brought in from the lower levels when Dingley lose a string of players to overseas trips through the middle of the season.
Both the reserves and the under-19s, however, have prescribed to the same style and with the top-tier midfield to remain intact, the club is confident it will be able to maintain that supremacy.
DIVISION 1
Results: Chelsea Heights 9.9 63 v St Paul’s McKinnon 15.10 100, Mordialloc 4.11 35 v Bentleigh 8.15 63, Port Melbourne Colts 15.10 100 v Cranbourne 15.7 97, St Kilda City 6.11 47 v Dingley 18.16 124, Springvale Districts 8.7 55 v Cheltenham 14.9 93.
Ladder: Cheltenham 20, Dingley 20, Cranbourne 16, Port Colts 16, St Paul’s McKinnon 16, Springvale Districts 16, St Kilda City 4, Chelsea Heights 4, Mordialloc 4, Bentleigh 4.
Fixture: Bentleigh v St Kilda City, Cheltenham v Mordialloc, Cranbourne v Springvale Districts, St Paul’s McKinnon v Port Melbourne Colts, Dingley v Chelsea Heights.
DIVISION 2
Results: Caulfield 6.6 42 v East Brighton 18.11 119, Black Rock 3.5 23 v Murrumbeena 21.22 148, Keysborough 4.10 34 v East Malvern 5.11 41, Highett 8.11 59 v Hampton Park 19.14 128, Skye 5.6 36 v Doveton Doves 9.4 58.
Ladder: East Brighton 24, Murrumbeena 20, Hampton Park 16, Doveton Doves 12, Highett 12, Caulfield 12, Skye 12, East Malvern 8, Keysborough 4, Black Rock 0.
Fixture: Skye v Hampton Park, East Malvern v Black Rock, East Brighton v Keysborough, Caulfield v Doveton Doves, Murrumbeena v Highett.
