By Jonty Ralphsmith
Hampton Park has pulled off a comeback as implausible as its 11-7 season to win its elimination final against Caulfield at Ben Kavanagh Reserve, Mordialloc, on Sunday.
The Redbacks trailed by 13 points early in the last quarter before kicking four of the last five goals against a strong wind to bury the demons of 2023 when it lost the corresponding fixture to Highett.
Tanner Stanton and skipper Liam Myatt propelled the Spiders to the 10.9 69 to 9.8 62 victory.
It was an inspired effort from both players, Stanton overcoming illness to play a typically reliable game in the midfield, and Myatt spending time forward as a result of persistent soreness.
Myatt kicked two goals in 60 seconds in the last quarter to trim the deficit to less than a kick midway through the last quarter.
Nick Brooks then levelled the scores, cleanly sharking a Bears hitout and snapping in traffic from 20.
With the Redbacks leading by a point at the 25-minute-mark, Myatt then soccered it off the ground to setup small forward Declan Brunell who kicked the match-winner.
“He was really important in the last quarter,” coach Hayden Stanton said of Myatt.
“It was a frustrating day for him early because we couldn’t get enough looks with the right spark but when we gave ourselves looks, we were dangerous forward of the ball which he was part of.”
The Spiders winning one-on-ones and applying themselves to the contest was crucial to the outcome of the game, and lifted at the last break.
“We implored the guys to take the game on ad be a bit more aggressive with the ball movement,” Stanton said.
“I felt like with the way the conditions were, we were too stagnant.
“We wanted to risk losing by six goals to win it and took the ball off the line more, got run from behind and shifted them which gave us good looks going forward.”
The conditions helped keep Hampton Park in it across the first three quarters despite playing patchy footy, before playing with great authority when the game was on the line.
Not until the seven-minute-mark of the last quarter did the Bears win a possession in their forward 50, highlighting Hampton Park’s swarming pressure to keep their season alive.
Hampton Park has used a staggering 47 players in 2024 and were understrength on Sunday, but the returns of ball magnet Jayden Weichard and halfback Ryan Patterson were both significant.
“They’ll get some belief out of that which is the most important thing,” Stanton said.
“We dug in and found a way which will hopefully give us some confidence. In the past perhaps we would have laid down and lost that game.”
The Redbacks will on Sunday face an East Malvern side coming off an 18-point defeat to premiership favourites Doveton.
“We’ve got a great respect for them – they’re a very good side, they’re well coached and play the game the right way but you know what you’ll get from them,” Stanton said.
“They’ll play through (full forward Isaac) Morrisby, their midfield is their one-wood so you match that, beat that and counteract that, you’re in the game.”
Hampton Park play on Sunday from 2pm at Ben Kavanagh Reserve.
