Cranbourne cracks in wet

By Brad Kingsbury
CRANBOURNE made a mockery of its reputation for toughness on Saturday, with Berwick’s strength at the contest and superior work rate proving too much for the Eagles at the slippery Edwin Flack Reserve.
The tougher it became the more the Wickers dug in to win the torrid contest by 16 points after easing down in the final quarter.
The ground was wet and chopped up after significant rain during the week, with both sides having trouble handling the ball and gaining a break in the first half.
The Wickers’ smaller ground-dwellers in Kris Fowler, Jason Rahilly, Nathan Talbett and captain Andrew Tuck were instrumental in matching the bigger-bodied Eagles at the stoppages.
Cranbourne’s attack was impotent with key targets Troy Tharle-Adams and Marc Holt well covered by their Berwick opponents and little back-up from team-mates.
The home side led by two points at quarter time and extended that against a slight breeze to 10 points at the main break.
After a spirited opening to the third quarter, Berwick’s persistence and intense work ethic took its toll.
The match-breaking moment came at the 15-minute mark of the third term when, after a ball-up on the 10-metre line, Fowler somehow got his foot to a loose ball in the goalsquare and slotted a major that saw the Wickers grab an 18-point lead. Cranbourne players’ heads dropped noticeably and the floodgates opened with the advantage blowing out to 35 points at the final change.
The Wickers did fall away slightly in the last 15 minutes of the game, but finally defeated a contender and sealed itself in the top five.
DEVON MEADOWS staged a form reversal to lead all day against HAMPTON PARK and win a rugged encounter at the Booth Reserve by 28 points.
The Panthers’ effort was made even more exceptional by the fact that only 22 players from a list of more than 50 trained on the Tuesday night prior to the game after a bout of flu went through the club.
The Panthers who took the early initiative and maintained forward pressure to kick three opening-term goals and keep the Redbacks goalless.
Hampton Park came out hard in the second term with Glen Rees and Nathan Dawes creating plenty of drive across the centre.
However, it took until the 14-minute mark of the second term before the first Redback major was kicked and the half-time deficit of seven points was as close as the home side got all day.
The Panthers’ two marquee players, Aaron Henneman and Daniel Rigg, played in defence with good effect.
Devon Meadows lifted its work rate another notch after the long break and piled on five unanswered goals in the third quarter to take a stranglehold on the game. Lucas Hoogenboom took over in the air, while super talented youngster Steve McInnes, along with Russell White and Damien Hinkley, showed their opponents a clean pair of heels as they ran the ball forward.
Dean Jamieson and Matt Dixon were among the home side’s better players, while defenders Scott Eastwood and Ryan Simpson also battled the game out, however it was the Panthers’ day.
NARRE Warren moved to third place on the ladder after holding off a hard-charging ROC to record a nine-point victory at the boggy Starling Road oval.
The Magpies flew out of the blocks and shocked the Kangaroos with a six-goal-to-one first term that all but decided the outcome.
Young forward Dylan Piening was on target and worked hard to keep the ball in attack, while his Narre Warren team-mates including captain Glenn Hamilton, Jarrod Anderson, Michael Collins and youngster Justin Marriott applied extraordinary pressure to emphasise the break.
ROC steadied in the second quarter and moved to within two goals of their opponents early in the third quarter, but the Magpies took advantage of some costly errors and took a match-winning 37-point lead into the three-quarter-time break.
Narre Warren went forward in the final term but couldn’t score and ROC rebounded well through Greg and Ben Tivendale, Ash Comer and the long-kicking Andrew Logan, but it was a case of too little, too late and the Magpies consolidated their position with another victory.
Piening finished with a return of five goals for the visitors.
BEACONSFIELD confirmed that finals football is a long way off after being belted by a sure and professional DOVETON side at the Robinson Reserve.
The game was played in slippery conditions and it was quite physical early, but the Doves were too slick in defence in the first half and rebounded ruthlessly every time the Eagles looked to mount an attack.
Beaconsfield’s only real forward target in Andrew Williams was blanketed by Callum Pattie, while young Dove Adam Dean (four goals) was creative at the opposite end with the Eagles main defender Kane Airdrie busy trying to stop Danny Casset having an influence on the contest. While Doveton ran the ball forward through midfielders Michael Henry, Russell Gabriel and Justin Hill, together with Daryl Thomas and Brad Downe off half back, the Eagles relied on coach Robbie Taylor and captain Daniel Mislicki for their drive and, apart from big-hearted ruckman Chris Kelf, had few other players willing to apply the pressure required against a top side.
Beaconsfield did not score its first goal until halfway through the third quarter and was kept to a paltry two goals for the game in one of its worst performances for the season.
TOORADIN turned a 25-goal loss the previous weekend into a 21-point victory over winless cellar-dwellers KEYSBOROUGH at the Western Port Oval. The return of star centreman Beau Miller from injury assisted the Seagulls, but it was a general change in attitude that saw the form reversal achieved, according to coach Cristian O’Brien.
PEARCEDALE catapulted into premiership calculations with an emphatic 13-point win over previously undefeated top dogs DROMANA in Nepean League. The Panthers were behind in the first half, but rallied on the back of great games from star forward Luke Damon and former Frankston VFL on-baller Chris O’Dell to overpower and outscore their highly rated rivals after half-time.