Bentleigh scores 22-point win over Clayton in Southern Football League Division 1

FIVE unanswered goals in the second quarter proved the catalyst for Bentleigh’s 22-point victory over Clayton in their SFL Division 1 clash on Saturday.

s44wg403 SFL Football. Division 3; Mt Waverley v Southern Dragons at Mayfield Reserve Mt Waverley. Mount Waverley's Jarrod Wilkin

FIVE unanswered goals in the second quarter proved the catalyst for Bentleigh’s 22-point victory over Clayton in their SFL Division 1 clash at Bentleigh Reserve on Saturday.

The inspired spurt gave the Demons a handy 19-point lead at the long interval, a lead they refused to surrender as the teams went foal-for-goal in the second half.

Sam McGarry and Scott Mortimer were in everything for the winners, as was Ben Morrison, who finished with three goals.

Andrew Lee and Todd James also shone for the Demons, while Jesse Henderson, Michael Jussared and Chris Neophitou were the pick of the Clays.

Meanwhile, in Division 2, after a goal-for-goal struggle for three quarters, Oakleigh Districts shook off a persistent Doveton Eagles in the final term to score by 20 points at Power Road.

The win has propelled the Oaks into third spot, from fifth, with the finals just six weeks away. Mladen Josic continued his great season for the Oaks, with yet another quality display, while Will LeMarca, Elvis Alimovski and Paul Fermanis all stood tall when needed.

The Eagles’ effort was again brave and they appear to have achieved their goal of consolidating their spot in the higher division this season.

And, in Division 3, despite a gutsy effort against the competition’s top side, Black Rock fell by two goals to a more accurate Mount Waverley at McDonald Reserve.

The loss has cost the Jets third spot on the ladder, and possibly double-chance, with just five games to play.

But, coach John Burke is confident his boys can climb back.

“We’ve got a good opportunity to grab third spot back. We’ve lost by an average of only eight points to the two top sides this season and I think we can do well in the finals,” he said.

But Burke is keen to address his side’s inaccuracy.

“Poor kicking is poor football and we’re kicking too many points. We’ve kicked 35.65 in the past four games and it is something we have to work on.”

The Jets gained plenty of positives from the loss, with the form of young Terry Jepson, a small forward who followed his mate down to the club for a game.

“He should be riding in the fourth race at Sandown,” quipped Burke. “He’s built like a jockey but he’s really developing and he was terrific for us today.”

Along with the usual suspects — Cory Durie, Jay Williams and Rob Kugler — Michael ‘Buddy’ Spohn also did a good job in holding Mount’s gun forward James Gough to just three goals.

The former American ice-hockey referee is in just his second year of Aussie Rules but is beginning to make his mark in his adopted game.

Mount Waverley coach Jarrod Wilkin again led by example as the Mountain Lions eventually prevailed 9.2 (56) to 6.8 (44).

Wilkin was well supported by Michael Dennis, Ben Beecroft and Ben Stacey.

Lyndale has grabbed third spot on the ladder following a comfortable 28-point win over Ashwood at Essex Heights Reserve.

The Pumas grabbed the initiative in the second term but did their best work in the last, with Dale Tormey, Ben Mayers, Ordell Buntine and Taylor Irish among their many winners.

Kris Kones, Brett Figas, Dylan Blizzard and Tim Smith did well for the Magpies.