Chris Yeend
The battle for finals positions could not be any closer with Macedon, Wallan and Melton Centrals all fighting for the remaining two positions. The race became a little more interesting on the weekend with Macedon defeating Rockbank, Melton Centrals losing to Riddell and Diggers Rest defeating Wallan to have all teams in close proximity of each other.
Macedon Cats got the win that they needed and did so thanks to eight goals from forward Shaun Neeson. After a tight first term, the Cats broke away from Rockbank in the second term to lead by 17 points at half-time. Mitch Lindsey helped inspire Rockbank back into the contest as they kicked five goals in third term to cut the margin back to two points heading into the last quarter. Macedon was able to settle through Jake Keating and Darren Goodwin digging deep to get the side over the line. Jamie Zerafa was a standout for Rockbank.
Riddell had a tough day at the office when it took on an explosive Melton Centrals outfit at MacPherson Park. The Bombers couldn't shake the home side in the opening half as they led by just six points. James Nolan kicked into gear as a strong forward presence and added to his four-goal haul as the Bombers kicked away to a 39-point three-quarter-time lead. Melton challenged in the final term to get within 20 points at the final siren with Adam Fenton kicking five goals and Steve James dominating in the ruck.
Romsey started slowly against a determined Kilmore side that took the game right up to the reigning premiers. The Blues led by four points at quarter-time. The Redbacks kicked into gear in the second term thanks to the efforts of young guns Jake Lever and Nathan Blair as the team kicked six-goals-to-one for the term to lead by 27 points at the break. The margin continued to grow in the second half as the Redbacks kicked 13-goals-to-five to finish the match 77 points in front. This was one of the strongest performances of the season for the Blues and coach Chris Nolan would have to admire the true grit and determination that they showed against one of the best sides in the competition. The Davidson boys shared 12 of 21 goals while Adam Goudge was a standout for the Blues.
Lancefield Tigers had a day to forget against the Sunbury Kangaroos on their home turf. They kicked just one behind in the opening half against a team that was determined to bounce back after a hard-fought one-point win over Woodend/Hesket the week before. The Roos dominated with 24-scoring-shots-to-one and Jamie Cuffe was unstoppable at full-forward as the Roos had 12 goal-kickers in the total of 21. Jared Pretty was at his brilliant best while Matt Bowden, Chris and Matt Burkett battled hard against the experienced Roos who won by 133 points.
Wallan put on a brave performance at home to Diggers Rest. The Pies trailed by just 10 points at quarter-time before the Burra's slammed home 7.7-to-two-behinds to lead by 57 points at half-time. Brent Tuckey was back in the team and rose to the occasion of a good contest as he would kick six goals in a team that dominated through the middle. The Pies kicked five-goals-to-nil in the third term to get the margin back to 26 points before the Burra's kicked away in the final term. Shannon Galea was a standout for the home side while Dave Cornish kicked three. Craig Marshall did his Bowen Medal chances no harm with another best on ground display.
Last Modified on 07/08/2012 13:51