By Blair Burns
Despite missing a number of players Hampton Park suffered a shock loss against Highett in Southern Division 2 and the final margin could’ve been even worse if the Bulldogs kicked straight.
The Redbacks came into the clash as favourites against the Bulldogs who had started the season 0-2 and, despite being undermanned, most thought Hampton Park would still get the job done.
Highett certainly wasn’t smashed in the first two rounds, but it came into the clash winless and the task to beat first on the ladder seemed too great.
Hampton Park didn’t have the toughest first two games, but its round-one statement win over Doveton by 120 points sent a message to the rest of the competition.
The Redbacks then dealt with Caulfield Bears and had a combined winning margin of 192 points across the first two weeks, but that was to change.
After a tight first quarter, the scores were level at eight apiece, but Highett came out in the second quarter and piled on seven goals while the Redbacks managed just one in reply.
Highett’s second quarter would have to be its best 30 minutes for the season as the team scored seven of their total 10 goals, setting up the important win with a 41-point lead at half time.
The Bulldogs scored eight goals to two in the first half, but Hampton Park wasn’t going down without a fight.
The Redbacks changed the momentum of the game and got on a run in the third and fourth quarters to outscore Highett 48-26 in the second half, but they left their charge too late.
However, Highett actually had more shots on goal than the Redbacks in the last term, but poor kicking of 0.10 stopped them from winning by a much greater margin.
The Bulldogs held on to win by 17 points in front of their home crowd, their first victory of the 2025 season, handing Hampton Park it’s first loss.
Redbacks coach Luke Bull said it was a disappointing loss and despite having a number of players missing, his team needed to be better.
“We had nine players out which is a hell of a lot, so having key personnel out definitely hurt us, but credit to them, they did their homework on us,” he said.
“They shut down the players they needed to and moved the ball well; they play their ground fairly well.”
Bull said his team knew that Highett would post a significant challenge, adding that there was no sense of complacency coming into the clash.
“They didn’t lose their first two games by much and they were in both games, so we knew they would bring it,” he said.
“They were killing us in clearances and killed us with their stoppage work, a few of their guys really got a hold of us in the midfield which was disappointing.
“They controlled most of the game and it was played in their half mainly, we had some moments but they were too good on the day.”
The first quarter was a bit of an arm-wrestle but it was the second term was where the game completely slipped away from Hampton Park.
“They jumped us in the second quarter and kicked seven goals, we couldn’t crawl our way back from that,” he said.
“We made a little comeback at the end but it was too late, we were probably pretty lucky too as they missed a fair few shots on goal.”
Tristan Fernandez-Phillips was just one of the players watching on from the sidelines last weekend but the speedster is expected to return this Saturday.
“About five players were out injured, we had one away and then we’ve still got three boys to come back from suspension,” Bull said.
“It’ll be really good when we get those boys back as they are all key players for us, we will potentially have four of them back next week, so Highett probably got us on a good day you could say.
“Credit to them, they played well and did what they had to do to get the win, but we are looking forward to getting that one back that’s for sure.”
Makaio Haywood and Bull both got heavy attention from Highett’s midfielders who clearly had a plan to try and nullify the pair.
Early in the third quarter, Highett’s Luca Guida gave Bull a shove in the contest and both players retaliated, within seconds, both players were involved in a small melee, which led to the coach being sent off with a yellow card.
“They put a fair bit of work into Makaio and came pretty hard at me as well, I was a bit silly and got sucked in, giving away a yellow card,” he said.
“It was just one of those days where nothing really went our way and they were playing really well.”
Liam Scott was a shining light for the Redbacks and has continued to impress throughout the first three games of the season.
Prior to this game, he had performed well against Doveton (22 disposals, one goal, 13 marks) and Caulfield (30 disposals, one goal, 18 marks).
Scott led the way once again with three goals, while teammate Myles Wareham kicked two.
“He was a bit quiet in the first half but then dominated in the second, he was taking heaps of marks and really got his game going,” Bull said.
“I am fairly confident that he will be the best player in the league or right up there, he is hard to match up on and you can throw him around or put him through the midfield.”
Despite the loss, Bull said there were a lot of things to take away from the game.
“In our next game, we’ve got to get on top in the clearance work and got to use the ball better, we weren’t really good by foot and turned the ball over a lot which hurt us,” he said.
“We’ve got to keep things positive, we will obviously do our review and look at the areas where we were poor, but the boys are pretty self-aware.
“We will have two big sessions on the track this week and look to get back on the winners’ list against Endeavour Hills.”
In other games, Keysborough’s gritty win would’ve put a smile on the face of coach Chris Smith as the side handed Caulfield Bears their third consecutive loss.
The Burras won the tight Anzac Day rivalry under lights by 14 points as Geoff Humphreys starred, alongside Simon Marchese who kicked two goals.
Chelsea Heights knocked off the previously undefeated Frankston Dolphins by four points in a thriller, to win its first game of the season.
The Demons led at every break, but it was still their game to lose as the Dolphins surged in the final quarter, but they held on – Luke Smith was named the best player while the team had eight individual goal scorers.
Doveton made it two wins in a row as it defeated Mordialloc by 10 points with accurate kicking proving the difference.
Max Sheppard led the way for the Doves with three goals while Ryan Hall kicked two, Josh Dickerson and Josh Kovarik (two goals each) were impressive for the Bloods in the loss.
One of the hot premiership favourites East Malvern survived a scare against Endeavour Hills but escaped with a 12-point victory in the low-scoring affair.
The Division 2 leading goalkicker Isaac Morrisby was kept goalless, but it was Charlie McGaw who stood up and booted three of his team’s six majors.
SOUTHERN DIVISION 2
HIGHETT 1.2 8.7 10.11 10.21 (81)
HAMPTON PARK 1.2 2.2 6.6 9.10 (64)
HIGHETT GOALS: Jacob Apted, Yael Hoorman 2, Reginald Becherer, Sam Jackson, Joshua O’Neill, Yianni Pasialis, Bailey Searle, Rhys Wilkinson.
BEST: Luca Guida, Jacob Apted, Thomas Carroll, Yael Hoorman, Brent Dyall, Bailey Searle.
HAMPTON PARK GOALS: Liam Scott 3, Myles Wareham 2, Declan Brunell, Mason Hawkins, Dylan Morris, Luke Sloan.
BEST: Mitchell Woolgar, Liam Scott, Trent Downe, Lachlan Carr, Myles Wareham, Declan Brunell.
KEYSBOROUGH 1.6 2.7 3.8 5.10 (40)
CAULFIELD BEARS 1.0 3.4 3.6 3.8 (26)
KEYSBOROUGH GOALS: Simon Marchese 2, Ethan Bakes, Dylan McKenzie, Kyden Vella.
BEST: Geoffrey Humphreys, Simon Marchese, Ethan Damato, Matthew Collett, Jack Harmes, PhillipIlic.
CAULFIELD BEARS GOALS: Jake Benoiton 2, Jake McLardy.
BEST: Jake McLardy, Michael Casey, Henry Woodward, Corey Barter, Nick Schumann, Asher Butcher.
DOVETON 2.1 4.3 5.5 9.6 (60)
MORDIALLOC 3.3 4.6 5.10 6.14 (50)
DOVETON GOALS: Max Sheppard 3, Ryan Hall 2, Jake Basa, Jake Calvert, Matthew Rogers, Cameron Williamson.
BEST: Jake Ingaliso, Ryan Hall, Justyn Kennewell, Deekon Stapleton, Jake Basa, Hayden Waters.
MORDIALLOC GOALS: Josh Dickerson, Josh Kovarik 2, Toby Plant, Connor Shaw.
BEST: Zachary Kercheval, Christopher Wheeler, Josh Kovarik, Toby Plant, Connor Shaw, Josh Dickerson.
EAST MALVERN 4.3 4.4 5.6 6.8 (44)
ENDEAVOUR HILLS 1.1 2.3 3.3 4.8 (32)
EAST MALVERN GOALS: Charlie McGaw 3, Jacob Brunner, Aidan Cellini, Charles Hamilton.
BEST: Logan Berryman, Angus Cameron, Jesse Smith, Charles Hamilton, Lachlan Harris, Charlie McGaw.
ENDEAVOUR HILLS GOALS: Liam Hasler, Ryan Johnson.
BEST: Cooper Herbert, Luke Peters, John Rafferty, Ryan Johnson, Luca Agresta.
OTHER GAMES – Rd 3: Chelsea Heights 8.14 (62) def Frankston Dolphins 8.10 (58)
LADDER: East Malvern 12, Hampton Park, Frankston Dolphins, Mordialloc, Doveton 8, Endeavour Hills, Highett, Chelsea Heights, Keysborough 4, Caulfield Bears 0.
FIXTURE – Rd 4: Frankston Dolphins (3) v Doveton (5), Hampton Park (2) v Endeavour Hills (6), Highett (7) v East Malvern (1), Chelsea Heights (8) v Keysborough (9), Caulfield Bears (10) v Mordialloc (4).
