EFL 2018: Templestowe keeps its Eastern Football League finals hopes alive after a 43-point win over Ferntree Gully

A REJUVENATED Templestowe continued its form revival after a 43-point victory over Ferntree Gully put the Dockers within a game of the Division 3 top five.

Templestowe footballer Alex Brown in action in the Eastern Football League (EFL). Picture: Davis Harrigan

A REJUVENATED Templestowe continued its form revival on Saturday after a 43-point victory over Ferntree Gully put the Dockers within a game of the Division 3 top five.

Templestowe coach Craig De Corsey labelled the 12.12 (84) to 5.11 (41) result his side’s most consistent performance of the year, also doing it without brilliant contributions from Daniel Cripps and Daniel Pearce.

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The star duo each kicked three goals but the Dockers continued to unearth young talent in their sixth win of the season, with brothers Tom and Max Blake and Sam Casalaz among the best players.

“That was one of the comments as coaches we made that probably our better players, although they (Cripps and Pearce) kicked a couple of goals and contributed, they probably weren’t our best players,” De Corsey said.

“When we went through it at the end of the day, that was probably the first time we could really say there wasn’t a bad player on the ground.”

Templestowe coach Craig De Corsey. Picture: Davis Harrigan

The victory also moved Templestowe out of the relegation zone for the first time this year, with six sides to be demoted from the third tier as part of the Eastern Football League restructure.

After just two wins from their first six games, the Dockers have squared their season at 6-6 to emerge as an unlikely finals contender.

But De Corsey’s side faces a defining fortnight with fixtures against Waverley Blues, who are also fighting for sixth position to avoid relegation, and fifth-placed The Basin.

“We have to win those games if we want to play finals and if we do and results maybe go our way later in the year, we’ve got a pretty good run home after those two, we play teams below us on the ladder, so the season is still alive for us until it is dead,” De Corsey said.

After struggling for consistency in the first six weeks of the season, De Corsey attributed his side’s turnaround to consistency in personnel.

“With the high turnover (of players) we had, it was as much about us as coaches finding the best mix and where these players sort of fit in the team for the first four or five rounds,” he said.

“We struggled with finding our best team I reckon to put on the park but just the last few weeks the boys are starting to jel.

“We’re reasonably happy with the way we’re playing, we’re in pretty good form.”