Casey-Cardinia league round 15

By Brad Kingsbury
NARRE Warren dominated HAMPTON PARK at Fox Road and cruised away to record a 68-point win at the nest on Saturday.
The Redbacks were without talls in Scott Eastwood and Brendan Fredericks and that turned out to be a telling factor as the Magpies started with the assistance of a steady breeze and dominated the aerial contests.
The Magpies’ three pronged attack of Lee Clark, Brett Evans and Ryan Stanes was well supplied by its midfield but suffered from inaccuracy in front of goals and failed to put their opponent away, booting 5.8 in the first term.
The Magpies capitalised in the second term with Michael and Chris Collins dominating around the ground, together with experienced defenders Glenn Hamilton and Clay Peresso.
The Redbacks had few answers other than the superb counter-attacks of rugged midfielder Jack Besley and some desperate work from defenders James Van Elewoud and Sheldon Fredericks.
At half time the visitors’ fate was obvious with a deficit of 52 points, but to Hampton Park’s credit, they made a minor charge in the third term and outscored their classy rivals for the quarter.
The margin again blew out in the final term with the Magpies’ class edge simply overwhelming the undermanned Redbacks.
On the plus side for Hampton Park was the form of Sean Winsall and teenager Dale Glazier, while Narre Warren defenders Lee Boyle and Daniel Van Den Broek had good battles with Mitch Whatman and Shane Moffatt respectively.
PAKENHAM confirmed itself as the best running side in the league with a 76-point victory over CRANBOURNE at the Toomuc Reserve.
The Lions looked a little unsettled early and trailed by five points at quarter time, but took advantage of the absence of injured Cranbourne ruckman Matt Linke in the second term and shot to a 29 point lead at the main break.
The Lions produced a burst of power at the 15-minute mark of the third quarter, winning vital centre breaks on three consecutive occasions to score unanswered goals and increase their lead from three goals to six in five devastating minutes.
The Eagles, disappointingly, dropped away towards the end of the game and allowed the margin to blow out to an unflattering total.
Cranbourne coach Doug Koop acknowledged the class of his side’s opponents.
“Pakenham makes you pay for mistakes and turnovers more than any other,” he said.
“We ran the ball well in patches but fumbled the ball too often and that was all they needed.”
DEVON MEADOWS coach Stephen O’Brien was upset after Saturday’s clash with a pumped up TOORADIN at the Glover Reserve, despite his side’s 30-point win and retention of the Ron Mantel Shield.
“It was a really disappointing effort to be honest,” he said.
“I didn’t bother even speaking to them after the game. I just said ‘you didn’t listen to me during the game so why would you listen to me after it?’ I just left it at that.
The Panthers took a 10-point lead into the first change but could not shake off the Seagulls and only led by 15 points over the winless cellar-dwellers at the main break.
Big Tooradin ruckman Steve Arvanitis played a smart game, dropping back to fill up holes in defence, while Adam Splatt, Rod Cochrane and Lachlan Gillespie were among the leading possession winners and David Tremowen a good target in attack.
A five goal to two third term gave the home side some breathing space, with Jesse Dehey and Stef Baumgartner taking control out of the midfield, but the Panthers wasted many other opportunities.
KEYSBOROUGH quickly got over an early case of lethargy to grind out a solid 40-point victory over BERWICK at the Rowley Allen Reserve.
The margin was not as great as many expected and the credit for that goes to the visitors who are now playing an attacking brand of football with the emphasis on running the ball forward and scoring as fast as possible.
The Wickers stopped running in the second quarter and Keysborough’s clear edge in pace and fitness saw the ball pounded into attack where spearhead Luke McGuinness kept the scoreboard ticking over.
At half time Keysborough had turned an 18-point deficit into a 17-point lead and wrested control of the match.
Keysborough booted away with eight goals to four in the third term with Matthew Freeman providing spark after being released from attack to a wing.
Berwick finished the game with several late goals, but the result was never in doubt with Keysborough’s experience telling.
ROC went down to BEACONSFIELD in a 107-point capitulation at Starling Road.
The Kangaroos were depleted with injuries to key players, but the lack of fight from early in the game was upsetting for the home side’s coaching staff led by Ben Delarue.
It was all one-way traffic in a 10-goal opening term blitz by the Eagles, and the visitors extended their 48-point quarter-time margin to a massive 73 points at the main break. Incredibly Beaconsfield booted 16.1 for the half.
The Eagles continued to do as they pleased, and, by the time the final siren put the Kangaroos out of their misery, the margin had broached 100 points.
PEARCEDALE downed SOMER-VILLE by 48 points to secure their fifth ladder position with two rounds left to play before the Nepean league finals.
Kerem Baskaya moved to third on the goal kickers table with 60 majors after a bag of eight while his Panther team mate Luke Damon chipped in with five in the dual-pronged forward set-up.
Pearcedale must win one of its two remaining games against top five incumbents Frankston or Langwarrin if it is to play at the business end of the year.
Coach Jason Chapple was pleased with his side’s performance.
“They just got back to the basics. The focus of the last four or five weeks has been basics," he said.
"At the start of the year finals was not on the radar … if we make finals good and well, but we just won’t put pressure on our biggest rivals in the next two weeks.
"Thirty-eight scoring points to 20 – it was good for some blokes to get some scoring shots.”