By Blair Burns
A round seven match-up against the undefeated Frankston Bombers was never going to be easy for Devon Meadows and it was made even harder with the absence of some key players.
The Bombers were too strong for the Panthers and continued their impressive form to win by 39 points, handing Devon Meadows its first loss since round one.
The Bombers have been flying in the Mornington Peninsula Division 2 competition this season and have already banked two more wins than they did in 2024, while Devon Meadows has also impressed with a 5-2 start to the season.
The Panthers were undermanned in a big way, missing players like Nick Battle (away), James Frawley (unavailable), Riley Simmons (broken leg), Dylan Gregson (ankle), Riley McDonald (suspension) and Pat Sinnema (concussion).
Devon Meadows co-coach Ryan Hendy said he was proud of the effort that the young team displayed.
“Obviously not the result we wanted but to our boys’ credit, we fought pretty hard and went in with a really young side,” he said.
“We were right in the game until about halfway through the third quarter … but at the end of the day, they were just too big and strong for us.
“We probably had seven players aged 19 and under play, (for them) to get that experience against one of the better sides in the competition will put us in good stead going forward.”
Frankston Bombers started well from the opening bounce and put some real pressure on the Panthers’ defence early.
The visitors kept Devon Meadows scoreless in the first term, to take a 26-point lead into quarter time, and there was a lot of work to be done.
But the young Panthers wouldn’t give up and responded well in the second quarter, led by the experience of captain Joel Hillis to outscore the Bombers 20-14 and reduce the margin slightly.
Hendy said that the long list of outs had resulted in some of the younger players taking on more responsibility and bigger roles.
“Jack Wilson was really good, he went into the midfield in the absence of Nick (Battle) and was one of our best players,” he said.
“Cody Ray is another kid who is just 17 and has really stepped up into senior footy this season … he’s got good agility, goes hard at the footy and brings pressure and class.
“I can’t believe he is not down at Dandenong Stingrays, he is definitely good enough to be playing down there.”
The boys will “pull their socks up and get to work” on the training track this week as they prepare for another big game against Chelsea, who is third on the ladder.
“Hopefully we can get a couple of players back this weekend, but time will tell during the week,” Hendy said.
“Chelsea is obviously a quality side, but if the boys can improve on what they did last weekend and we get to work on Chelsea, we are more than ready to step up to them.”
In other games across the MPFNL Division 2 competition, there were some heavy defeats headlined by Chelsea’s 142- point victory over Tyabb as Jack Francis (six goals) led the way.
The Seagulls set the tone with an eight-goal first quarter, before kicking a further 15 goals in the second half to smash the Yabbies with 13 individual goal scorers.
Pearcedale was far too strong for Rye, winning by 63 points as Brett Eddy (eight goals) and Cruiz West (six goals) outscored the Demons by themselves.
The Dales were clinical in the third quarter, kicking 9.5 to 2.1 to set up a huge victory, but Rye responded in the final term to kick six goals, and actually win the quarter 40-24.
A big final quarter helped Bonbeach run away to an important victory against Seaford as they won by 31 points, which didn’t accurately reflect the closeness of the match.
The Tigers had a half-time lead of 12 points, but the likes of Dimitri Fasoulis (six goals) and Liam Hulett (four goals) turned things around in the second half to lead Bonbeach to a five-goal win.
Hastings bounced back from a scoreless opening quarter to win its first game of the season against a struggling Karingal side.
Despite kicking poorly in front of goal with 8.16 and trailing at three-quarter time, the Blues did enough to win by 16 points as Jack Slocombe (three goals) and Kade Foster led the way.
Crib Point won a thriller against Somerville in the closest match of the round as the Magpies held on to win by just one point.
Archie Shepherd and Lee Sheehan kicked three goals for Crib Point, while Mason De Wit led the way for the Eagles with four majors.
MPFNL DIVISION 2
DEVON MEADOWS 0.0 3.2 5.2 8.3(51)
FRANKSTON BOMBERS 4.2 6.4 11.9 13.12(90)
Devon Meadows Goals: Alex Canal, Joel Hillis, Cody Ray 2, Bailey Phillips, Lucas Thompson.
Best: Joel Hillis, Jack Wilson, Alex Canal, James King, Daniel Allen.
Frankston Bombers Goals: Jai Block, Jarrad Grant, Jack Matheson 3, Mitchel Charles, Daniel Didomenicantonio, Jason Kingsbury, Ryan Murdock.
Best: Flynn Walker, Jack Matheson, Harrison Prior, Mitchel Charles, Jai Block.
PEARCEDALE 5.5 8.9 17.14 21.14(140)
RYE 1.2 3.6 5.7 11.11(77)
Pearcedale Goals: Brett Eddy 8, Cruiz West 6, Luke Jennings 2, Ryan Bastinac, Kian Benwell, Luke Daniel, Jackson Hartgen, Lachlan Hinde.
Best: Brett Eddy, Cruiz West, Kaolan Thornton, Luke Daniel, Finn Jakstas.
Rye Goals: Ed Greene 5, Sonny Campbell Farrell, Jordan Nennstiel 2, Zach Byrns, Tom Hughes.
Best: Justin Barnes, Ed Greene, Sonny Campbell Farrell, Zach Byrns, Tom Hughes.
OTHER GAMES – Rd 7: Chelsea 26.21 (177) def Tyabb 5.5 (35), Crib Point 12.7 (79) def Somerville 12.6 (78), Hastings 8.16 (64) def Karingal 7.6 (48), Bonbeach 17.14 (116) def Seaford 12.13 (85).
LADDER: Frankston Bombers 28, Pearcedale 24, Chelsea, Devon Meadows, Bonbeach 20, Seaford, Crib Point 16, Somerville, Rye 8, Hastings, Tyabb 4, Karingal 0.
FIXTURE – Rd 8: Devon Meadows (4) v Chelsea (3), Karingal (12) v Pearcedale (2), Bonbeach (5) v Somerville (8), Frankston Bombers (1) v Seaford (6), Rye (9) v Hastings (10), Tyabb (11) v Crib Point (7).
