By Nick Creely
OUTER EAST FOOTBALL
PREMIER AND DIVISION 1 REVIEW – ROUND 5
It was a midfield masterclass.
The Narre Warren engine room sliced and diced its way through Wandin with precision at home on Saturday, inflicting the Dogs with another heavy loss on the vast south-east grounds.
Looking at the raw numbers, the Magpies had 11 individual goal kickers, including five with multiple majors, in their 22.14 (146) to 8.7 (55) victory in the AFL Outer East Premier Division.
But this was a win set-up by more than just what happened in the front-half – it was about their ball movement and ability to use the width of Kalora Park to their advantage.
The Dogs were the first on the board after a superb set-up from young gun Patrick Bruzzese, before a couple of quick goals – one after a lovely launch from Brad Scalzo – saw the home side steady and take a 10 point advantage at quarter time.
Skipper Dylan Quirk – in the midst of a brilliant season – gave the first sign that the game was shifting towards the home side – with a strong grab and goal in the opening minutes of the second quarter, but a freakish effort from Justin Van Unen got the Dogs back into the contest.
Isolated deep inside 50, Van Unen kicked a miracle goal out of mid-air in the middle of a marking contest, with many Magpies needing a few seconds to actually register that it was in fact a goal.
But from there, it was simply domination, with the Magpies looking irresistible with ball in hand, skipping away with a dominant third term, running the Dogs off their feet with razor-sharp foot skills and great transition off half-back.
In attack, the Magpies had a ruthless edge, with Cox slamming on another three for the term, while the class and strength of Michael Collins (three goals) and Daniel Jackson (three goals) came to the fore, with Collins slotting an absolute beauty on the run deep in the pocket.
To the Dogs’ credit, they fought hard to keep the final margin under 100 points, but once again, the Magpies showcased their blistering speed and ability to pile on massive scores.
Narre Warren coach Matt Shinners said it was pleasing to have overcome a sluggish start to continue on their winning form.
“The first half of footy wasn’t one of our best, and they certainly took it up to us and made us work for it (the win),” he said.
“It was one of things, they had a few back, but still some missing we understand, and they put pressure on my young group, and you’ll have ebbs and flows.”
The midfield group, consisting of Brad Scalzo, Trent Cody, Dylan Quirk and Nathan Foote – as well as great run and carry from Josh Tonna and Ryan Quirk – were in vintage form, dominating the clearances and also spreading hard on the outside to completely flatten the visitors in the end.
“They’ve (the midfield group) been really good, pretty much week in, week out since the season started, and we did get dominated in there last year, but more so with Berwick, but the boys have worked really well and are gelling,” he said.
“I sort of leave it up to them coming up with some moves and strategies, and the key is winning the ball out of the middle.
“Bailey Delves has been doing a terrific job in the ruck, and sometimes he’s getting dominated in the air, but our on-ballers have been up to the challenge and clear the ball out.”
Generating 22 goals and 36 scoring shots was another pleasing aspect of the Magpies’ win, with returning VFL-listed forward Mitch Cox returning to local footy with plenty of vigour after an injury, snaring six goals and proving a nuisance both in the air and on the ground.
Down at Edwin Flack Reserve, it was another bag of goals to Harry Money, and another four points to Berwick after a 99-point victory against Woori Yallock on Saturday.
The champion Wickers side inflicted the Tigers to their first loss of the AFL Outer East Premier Division season, in another impressive four-quarter performance, 20.17 (137) to 6.2 (38).
On a day where nasty weather also seemed to be looming large, the destructive Money was the man once again, slotting eight majors to take his tally to 25 from the first five matches.
Money was well supported by Andrew Morozoff, Jonte Andrew, James McLean and Tim Gunn, who all snared two majors, while defender Will Arthurson snuck down to also pick up a couple of goals.
Beaconsfield, meanwhile, snared an incredibly important win on the road, knocking off Upwey Tecoma in a dominant second-half showing, 19.13 (127) to 7.13 (55).
The Eagles – despite actually starting the season in relatively solid form despite entering with a 1-3 record – simply needed to come away with the win.
And they did.
Eagles coach Leigh McQuillen acknowledged that it was a massive game for his footy club, who – if falling to a 1-4 record – would be playing catch up for the rest of the year.
“We knew we’d been playing well and losing three games to the former SEFNL clubs by a total of five goals spoke volumes about the fact we could’ve easily had a better record that 1-3,” he said.
“Coming back from 1-4 would’ve made it a longer road.”
The Eagles skipped away eventually after an entertaining first-term which saw nine-goals and a narrow four point lead to the visitors, kicking 14 goals to three after quarter time to bank some important percentage and confidence, all without champion ruckman Scott Meyer.
McQuillen said it was a credit to the group’s maturity that they were able to adapt within games, and said that they prepared meticulously for the challenge of playing on the smaller ground.
“The group has matured so much and after the past two seasons of playing under a drastically changed game plan and we’re seeing the benefits now with this group having a thorough understanding of what we do with the ball in hand and where we need to be without the ball to support team structure,” he said.
“We trained all week on our back oval reducing the boundaries to the exact dimensions of Upwey’s ground.
“Our drills we’re all in tight and our defence was adjusted to cater for the dimensions. We selected a side that featured more inside players.
“Early in the game we focused on quick hands and gaining territory via run and carry, knowing that one kick can place you in scoring territory.
“We knew we had a lot of creative forwards and that at the drop of the ball we would be extremely dangerous.”
In the remaining matches, Cranbourne inflicted Healesville with a heavy 24.19 (163) to 7.4 (46) loss, to continue their impress goal scoring form in recent weeks.
There was danger signs early as the Eagles had 14 scoring shots to just one at quarter time, opening up a 38 point lead to flatten the Bloods.
Although the home side fought back with four goals to six in the second half, Steve O’Brien’s side found another gear to slam on 12 goals to two in the second half.
In Division 1, it was some sort of performance from Monbulk star Shane Williams on Saturday.
Coming back from a recent injury, the star Hawk put in one of the individual performances of the season, slotting 10 goals in an effort that saw Pakenham slump to its first loss of the Division 1 season, 14.15 (99) to 7.6 (48).
In modern day footy, it’s a sublime effort, and a reminder of his capabilities regardless of what position he’s playing in.
And it now means the Hawks are the only undefeated side of the competition, a feat not lost on coach Andrew Williams, who said that his side were building nicely ahead of many challenges ahead, and were looking forward to continue developing their brand.
“Obviously coming into the season, there was an unknown of where sides were going to match up, and I think the results are starting to prove any team can beat anyone on any given day,” he told the News.
“It is a very pleasing start to the year, but we’ve certainly got our biggest challenges ahead of us.”
With Williams completely dominating the game with five majors in each half, his coach said that it was one of the finest performances he’s seen in local football, praising his star sharpshooter – who now has 15 goals for the season – for his flexibility in the lineup and ability to play the role required to help his team.
“We were pretty happy to have him back in the team, he obviously missed the Emerald game with injury, and he was still not 100 per cent (this weekend), but he was able to give us that contest in the forward line,” he said.
“It’s just the way he competes that’s impressive, he hits up the footy really well and his hands are really clean.
“From our end, I couldn’t speak highly enough about him.”
In the remaining matches across Division 1, Officer made it two on trot and surged into fifth position with an in the end comfortable win against Belgrave, 14.11 (95) to 8.12 (60). Mount Evelyn enjoyed a strong weekend at home, knocking off Doveton by 41 points, 15.13 (103) to 8.14 (62), while Emerald picked up their first win of the season, defeating Warburton Millgrove by 98 points in a terrific performance at home, 18.18 (126) to 4.4 (28).
