By Mark Gullick
CRANBOURNE rained on Beaconsfield’s parade with a 23-point victory at Perc Allison Oval.
It was a marquee date for Beaconsfield, which was celebrating its 120th year.
Cranbourne won the first meeting between the two clubs in 1890 and they were too classy yet again when they met on Sunday.
Rain had reduced the oval to a cows’ paddock and the players sank into the mud with each step.
Characteristically, Beaconsfield went on the attack early but failed to register any goals. Cranbourne attacked and kicked two quick ones, a soccer goal from Marc Holt and a long shot from Ray George.
Beaconsfield goaled on the siren after a long kick from Sean Marchetti.
Cranbourne dominated the second term and was in danger of not being rewarded for its attacks until Curtise Barker and Justin Berry kicked truly.
Ryan Donaldson kicked a goal for Beaconsfield late in the quarter to leave his side 15 points down at the main break.
Marc Holt stood up for Cranbourne in the third and kicked the only two goals for the quarter.
Turning into the final term, Cranbourne was ahead by 31 points, an insurmountable lead in the conditions.
A goal to Ray George early in the term effectively killed the contest.
Beaconsfield kicked two late goals.
Cranbourne coach Doug Koop was pleased with how his players mastered the difficult conditions. “You’re not going to get any easy kicks,” he said. “Fortunately for us, we didn’t have any players who went down that path. We’ve spread the load right across the list. We don’t need any particular players to stand up and play well for us. We’ve got a group of players prepared to have some criteria that they follow and they are prepared to work hard to achieve those criteria.
“They’re playing some outstanding team footy at the moment. Last year we were ordinary in the wet, but we showed that we were a bit of a wet-weather side.”
Cranbourne defenders Andrew Young and Matthew Thompson were very good. Ray George was superb in the midfield, John Frenken, big man Curtise Barker and winger Ryan Jones all played well in an even term performance.
A 12-GOAL burst in the final quarter, including eight in the final 10 minutes, gave Narre Warren a 51-point win over Keysborough at Kalora Park.
It was a devastating loss for the Burras, which led at every quarter break and held a three-point lead 20 minutes into the final term.
Keysborough began the game in hot form and kicked 6.3 to 2.4 in the opening term.
The Magpies kicked five goals in the second term to trail by just four points at the long break. Each team kicked two goals in the third term and Keysborough took a six-point lead into the last term.
The final term was tense and there were plenty of behinds before the Magpies took the lead with two quick goals.
The lead changed hands three times and the crowd’s anticipation was at fever pitch with under 10 minutes to go.
Narre Warren kicked eight goals in the blink of an eye to leave Keysborough dumbfounded. “A lightening bolt must’ve struck my blokes and they started to assert themselves,” Narre Warren coach Matt Shinners said. “They really put us under a lot of pressure in the first half. We weren’t playing good footy but I suppose it was pretty scrappy. It was frustrating that we couldn’t get our game going.”
Defender Colin McNamara played another great game for the Magpies. Michael Collins, Daniel Borninkhof, Michael McGill and youngsters Ben Wragg and Chris Potalej were solid.
HAMPTON PARK rocketed back into finals contention by recording its third straight win after outclassing Berwick by 41 points at Edwin Flack Reserve.
The Redbacks now sit eighth on the ladder with four wins, but only percentage separates them from fifth-placed Devon Meadows.
Hampton Park won every quarter and played a tough, skilful brand of football.
It was the second term that set the foundation for Hampton Park with four goals to one.
In the second half, Hampton Park outscored the home side seven goals to six.
“It was very pleasing to put away a side for once,” Hampton Park coach Josh Taylor said. “Three in a row is nice as well.”
Leigh Morse played his best match for the year. He kicked three goals playing as a midfielder. Steve Watson was influential in the ruck, as was Dean Jamieson who kicked two goals.
Taylor continued his good run of form, and he worked well with Sean Nunan and Chris Simpson in the midfield.
Berwick coach Glenn Dale was disheartened by his team’s meagre performance.
“(Hampton Park) played better footy all day,” he said. “They wanted the ball more, they were cleaner and a lot more physical. They tested out our guys, while our physicality was really poor.
“There were a couple of times in the match where they had it over us and the boys never stood up to it. Our boys didn’t stick up for themselves and that was probably the most disappointing thing about it.”
Billy Carlyle was Berwick’s best player and he’s enjoying a good patch of form.
Paul Vanschilt, rising star Tim Gunn, big men Brett Robinson and Shane Findlayson, and gun midfielder Nathan Page tried hard.
DEVON MEADOWS lost its fourth straight match after succumbing to Pakenham by 59 points at Major Recreation Reserve.
The first three quarters were a tight struggle and at the final change, the result was still undecided.
Margins of just one, five and six points separated the teams at each of the first three breaks.
Despite playing three competitive quarters, Devon Meadows slumped to its fourth straight loss.
“It was one of the most disappointing performances during my time at the club,” coach Steve O’Brien said. “The game was there to be won. There was a kick in it at three-quarter-time. Not enough blokes put their hand up; too many blokes just accepted it too easily, unfortunately.”
Billy Hayes was superb in defence for Devon Meadows. Ryan Murphy, David Velardo (four goals), Brett Armitage and Justin Hill played well.
TOORADIN lifted itself off the bottom of the ladder with a comeback win over ROC.
The Seagulls were irresistible in the third term when they piled on six goals to one to change a 13-point half-time deficit to a 14-point lead into the final term.
ROC responded with five final-quarter goals, but Tooradin hung on to claim a nine-point win. “Our third quarter was our best quarter of the season,” Tooradin coach Chad Liddell said.
Liddell was pleased with the performances of his young players, and also heaped praise on his veterans.
“(The win was) good for the senior blokes as well because they’re the ones who turn up every week and shoulder a lot of the load,” he said. “The atmosphere around the club after the game was great.”
Tooradin captain Beau Miller was superb again, defender Adam Splatt and midfielder Aaron Hyde, along with Alistair Robinson, Mark Griffiths and Jason Siegel, were prominent.
