Covid sweeps through MPFNL Division 1 club
A string of positive Covid cases couldn’t stop a Mornington Peninsula league Division 1 club from recording a rousing win, with an ex-AFL forward lighting it up.
Local Footy
Don't miss out on the headlines from Local Footy. Followed categories will be added to My News.
It was a bit like going back to 2021 for several Mornington Peninsula Football Netball League clubs last week.
Covid-19 reared its ugly head again, with at least three Division 1 clubs reporting positive cases.
Hardest hit was Frankston Bombers, who had six players return a positive test for Covid on Monday.
“It’s certainly going around again,” Frankston Bombers coach John Brown said.
“We had six players on Monday test positive so they were away from the club all week.”
Brown said four of the six recovered well enough to play against Langwarrin on Saturday, including ruckman Jack Berry and Cameron Price.
“The boys got through, a couple of them were a bit cooked but we managed their workload and game time yesterday,” Brown said.
“We sent them off nice and quickly after the game.”
Frankston Bombers led throughout to beat Langwarrin by 38 points, 13.12 (92) to 7.10 (52), at Lloyd Park.
Former Western Bulldogs and Gold Coast Suns forward Jarrad Grant kicked 5.5 to ignite the Frankston Bombers.
Grant was at his mercurial best as he slotted a left-foot snap in the opening quarter to get his afternoon underway.
“He was on yesterday,” Brown said.
“With the length of the ground at Langwarrin, Khan (Haretuku) played more of a role higher up the ground.
“Jarrad was a deeper target.”
Jai Block and Noah Hura were also lively near goals for the Bombers, kicking two each.
The Bombers younger players performed well across the ground, notably Connor Morgan, Chase Harris, Lachie Robinson and Flynn Wood.
Ryan Marks-Logan, Alex Harnett and Berry did well across all four quarters.
The win continued Frankston Bombers’ slick 4-1 start to the season under new coach Brown.
“We’re a long way from where we want to be,” Brown said.
“But it’s positive in terms of the steps we’re taking every week, we’ve got a lot of young players in the squad and we’re seeing a lot of positive growth out of those players.
“We certainly know we’re not the finished product at the moment and it’s pleasing we’re getting the results and we’ve got a lot more growth across the next few months.”
Frankston Bombers host unbeaten Dromana next weekend in a top-of-the-ladder blockbuster.
“We’re really excited by the challenge,” Brown said.
“These are the games we really look forward to playing because we want to test ourselves out each week.”
Rosebud improved its record to 2-3 with an all-the-way 22-point win over last season’s grand finalists Bonbeach. Stephen Cumming and Reid Nanscawen were back from injury and performed well. Zac Maynard, Liam Tidd, Jake Carosella, Rory Rowe and Blake Kuipers were also in the Buds best. Rosebud coach Danny Ades said he was pleased how his side responded to Bonbeach’s challenge after three-quarter time.
Jake Aarts was named best afield in Dromana’s 20-point win over Mt Eliza, 11.13 (79) to 8.11 (59). Sam Fowler, Jordan Andrews and Reece Wilde kicked two goals apiece for the 5-0 Tigers. Billy Geurts, Billy Quigley and Dean Waugh were also in the best.
Sorrento led all the way to beat Red Hill by 21 points under lights at Red Hill on Saturday night. Leigh Poholke booted four goals and Liam McKenna was best afield for the Sharks.
Every signing of the WFNL off-season
The WFNL off-season has only just started but some clubs have already well and truly started making moves for 2025. Keep up to date with every signing in our signing tracker.
Ex-AFL stars, Lake’s flag bid: 25 WFNL storylines to watch
What impact will Bachar Houli and Lachie Hunter have, can Brian Lake lead Caroline Springs to a premiership and can the big recruiters make it work? These are 25 WFNL storylines to watch this year.