VAFA ROUND 21_Col.indd - Victorian Amateur Football Association

DIVISION 4
BACK TO THE FUTURE
Jim Sutton
Monash Gryphons have repeated the deeds of so
many D3 demotees before them by making their
stay in the bottom grade a short one, and will return
from whence they came in 2011. Meanwhile South
Mornington’s season came to an end after a topsy
turvy clash against Manningham.
Second Semi – Monash Gryphons vs Mt
Lilydale
Mt Lilydale gave Manningham a four goal start the
previous week in the Qualifying Final, and clearly
didn’t learn their lesson as they again struggled to
get out of second gear early in their clash with the
Gryphons. The margin remained at a manageable
level after a tighter second term, before the
Gryphons switched on the afterburners early in the
third and got out to an almost ten goal lead. The
Rams bunkered down and took a big chunk out of
the deficit by the last change, but were unable to
maintain the momentum in the last as the Gryphons
steadied and ran out to a comfortable victory. Mt
Lilydale racked up more inside 50’s for the day
but couldn’t hit their targets up forward, and their
turnovers were punished by the Gryphons who
played clean skilful football up the ground on the
rebound resulting in many scoring opportunities.
Mick Malloy (5 goals) had a day out at half
forward for the Gryphons, Lee Wells and Luke
Wilson were terrific turning defence into attack,
and Chris Leeton was strong in the ruck, but will
be anxiously awaiting the outcome of a tribunal
appearance this week. For the Rams, Michael
Rhodes played his best game for the season in
a ruck roving role, Mark Gower was solid in
defence all day, and Al Stuart in the midfield and
Haydn Moyes on a wing both provided plenty of
run.
First Semi – Manningham Cobras vs South
Mornington
Great conditions for the Sunday game which was
played at a very fast pace from the outset. The
Cobras had the best of the early going before
South Mornington hit back late in the quarter to
take a narrow lead at the first change. In the second
quarter it was all South Mornington, who were full
of run and cleaner with the footy, taking a four
goal advantage into half time. The Cobras had to
re-group and with some key positional moves,
Manningham quickly clawed back the lead in the
third taking a slight advantage into the final break.
The last quarter was a tense close battle, with both
sides missing some crucial shots on goal and the
Cobras finally coming away with the 11 point
victory. Great season for the Tigers, who started
0-3 but in the end took a step up from last year, and
with another season under their belts the young
club will be anticipating a big 2011.
For the Cobras, Stevie Sheales second half, and
in particular his run was superb. Big Terry Young
was outstanding all day, and Andrew Coonan also
provided excellent run. Sam Wright and Kyle
Gascoigne both completed great finals series for
South, while Jacob Riordan and Matt Killen
were others to perform well on the day.
This week:
Preliminary Final – Mt Lilydale vs Manningham
Cobras
Third meeting in the last five weeks for this pair,
who by 5pm on Saturday will probably be sick of
the sight of each other. Of course with a 0-3 record
against the Rams this year, the Cobras may already
be feeling a little queasy. Preliminary finals are
often the most tense matches of the year with the
last promotion spot up for grabs, with the loser
going unrewarded for a season of sweat and toil
while the winner gets a big prize regardless of the
result the following week. Hard to ignore the form
line of Mt Lilydale who have only lost twice this
season and if they can turn around their slow starts
of the last two weeks, they should be too good
and advance to a Grand Final showdown with the
Gryphons.
In the reserves North Brunswick came close to
toppling the Gryphons last week and will be keen
to get the job done against Swinburne Uni and set
up a rematch next week.
Match reports to d4scribe@gmail.com by Monday
arvo please. A big thanks to my regular contributors
during the season. Have a good weekend all.
14 THE AMATEUR FOOTBALLER 2010