EDFL Premier Division: Keilor overcome East Keilor in big second half
Keilor’s forwards are continuing to fire in the absence of a former VFL star as a star-studded Blues midfield stamped their authority in a big win over East Keilor.
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Keilor’s scoring power is proving too much for opposition teams.
The Blues have reached triple figures in five games already this season along with scores of 92 in the opening two rounds.
They were held well below their season average, kicking just 8.8 (56), in the round 4 loss to Aberfeldie.
But on Saturday they had no such issues, booting their second highest score of 2022, in a 23.8 (146) to 14.12 (96) win over East Keilor in a highly anticipated EDFL Premier Division clash.
East Keilor showed its own ability to hit the scoreboard quickly after kicking 10 goals in the opening half only to be limited to four after the main break.
The second term was a dream come true for lovers of attacking footy with Keilor kicking seven goals to six to take a 12-point lead into halftime.
But at the end of the day it was the Blues’ dominant forward duo of Matt Clark (four goals) and Todd Stevenson (six) which proved to be the difference between the local rivals.
Clark leads the competition with 23 majors while Stevenson has 12 in his last three games.
Keilor coach Mick McGuane said the pair had “taken up the slack in front of the ball” in the continued absence of Dean Galea who has not played since mid-April.
“They’re a combination who are playing great footy,” he said.
“When you have your key forwards combining for 10 goals you’re always going to be a good chance of winning any game.
“I thought Alex Kocovic played a nice game of footy with three goals as well, he gave us another avenue to goal.
“It was a high quality game of footy which allowed players on both sides to show off their skills.
“Thankfully for us we were able to be clinical with our goal kicking which we haven’t always been able to do this year.”
Star onballer Nick O’Kearney continued his brilliant form, again named in Keilor’s best for the seventh game this season.
After dominating the first two quarters, he received some much closer attention from the Cougars after halftime.
But he managed to work his way through the challenge according to McGuane.
“He accumulated plenty of the footy despite being tagged,” McGuane said.
“We know he’s a fantastic player and it was good to see him have another strong game.
“It wasn’t just about our midfield either, down back I thought Brad Xavier had a really good game and led really well for us.”
Kyle O’Connor and Luke Cartelli also found their way onto the scoreboard with three goals each.
O’Connor found plenty of the footy throughout the game and was named among Keilor’s best.
“He played very well,” McGuane said.
“Everything he touched was cleaned which allowed him to have a major impact on the game.”
For East Keilor, Lachie Rayner was named the best player on the ground.
Rhys Smith, Brandon Coletta, Tim Bongetti, Victor Micallef and Dion Hill also impressed in a fighting effort.
Nic Grabowski finished with four goals.
Keilor will now turn its attention to Pascoe Vale while East Keilor aims to bounce back against Glenroy.
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