Martin, Sketcher lead the way as Noble Park defeats disappointing Rowville

ROWVILLE coach John Brown left ‘filthy’ as his team is outplayed by a Noble Park side inspired by leaders Kyle Martin and Jackson Sketcher.

Star Jackson Sketcher on the run for Noble Park against Rowville.

IT was second against ninth.

But it was not the result the ladder suggested it would be.

Noble Park set aside a few frustrating weeks to defeat the higher-placed Rowville in the Round 8 Eastern league Division 1 match at the Pat Wright Senior Oval on Saturday.

The Bulls started smartly, went on to win every quarter and claimed a 35-point victory, taking a decisive step away from relegation territory.

By designation and by deed, captain Kyle Martin and vice-captain Jackson Sketcher are Noble’s pivot players and they again gave outstanding performances.

Martin had 40 possessions, few of them easily earned, the bulk of them wisely used.

Sketcher had 27 and early in the third quarter kicked a left-foot goal that signalled the Bulls, well placed at halftime, wouldn’t be letting up.

Inaccuracy had cost them in the first term but they peeled off five unanswered goals in the second, dominating in general play — fierce tackling helped achieved that — and the forward entries.

A tangle in the goalsquare at the Moodemere St end.

There was no way back for Rowville, not even with its captain, Alex Frawley, playing so brilliantly and boldly. His desperation should have been an inspiration to his teammates.

Frawley’s long goal from a set-shot reduced Noble’s lead to 37 points in the 19th minute of the third quarter. But Will Collis gave the Bulls a steadier. They were untroubled from there.

Collis, listed with VFL club Casey Demons, was one of a string of young Noble Park players to set down an influence on the match.

Fellow left-footer Ali Zijai, also on Casey’s books, was busy on a wing and might be up for a league Young Gun nomination; Bailey Lambert kicked three goals, the first two in the breakaway second term; Luke Nelson and Jordie Marson had some good moments up forward; and Cosi Anagnostou, Mouneer Ghanem and Luke Marolla played their part.

Then there was Tom Glen, who had 23 disposals before hurting his ankle. People are seeing why he was a best and fairest in good company at the Dandenong Stingrays.

Hudson Thomas (three goals) kept the Rowville backmen busy and at the other end Ryan Morrison was a dependable last line.

Aaron Erbulut thumps Noble Park into attack.

Hawks coach John Brown saw warning signs early and gave his players a furious burst at quarter time. He demanded they “make a statement’’, but they could summon only a few hesitant words.

The match brought back to the ground Noble Park premiership players Zig Alwan and James Gwilt, the pair having joined Rowville in the off-season.

Alwan started in the middle. And he started shakily, being caught with the ball and allowing Piva Wright to score the first goal of the game. Then Zijai intercepted his kick out of defence and put through a set-shot. The Bulls were away.

But Alwan worked his way into the match and was a good contributor for the visitors. Ditto for Gwilt, who spent the day in defence.

Their appearance may have explained the edge to Noble Park coach Mick Fogarty, who was particularly animated in the box, thumping the bench even with his team well in front in the last quarter.

Asked about his former players, Fogarty said: “No, they’re terrific, both of them. I love Ziggie and always will. He was a great player for our footy club for a long time. We’ve all moved on. We needed to get the result. There was always going to be a bit of noise but we didn’t speak about it. We just wanted to get on with the job.’’

Matt Little of Rowville celebrates one of his three goals.

Fogarty said his side had been “thereabouts’’ in previous weeks and had “got reward for effort’’.

“It was a four-quarter effort. There are still areas of our game we need to get better at, but to get the four points over a good side, that gives us confidence going forward,’’ he said.

“Good start, yeah. Would have been nice to get some more scoreboard pressure. But we turned that around. I thought we controlled the game. They came at us a couple of times but we were able to answer them.’’

Brown said of his team: “That’s our most disappointing performance of the season. Really disappointed with our output today, from the first minute right through to the end. We turned the footy over. Doesn’t matter which team you play, they’re going to hurt you on the rebound.

“Just our performance early, lack of respect, probably lack of following instructions really hurt us. We were disappointed with our defensive efforts early and that seemed to transcend the game.’’

Rowville was missing a number of key players. But Brown said that was no excuse. He said the Hawks fielded a good team and he was expecting a strong showing.

“Wouldn’t have mattered who we played today. We were ordinary and we were ordinary over four quarters. I’m filthy on our performance.’’

Matt Little slipped in for three goals, young Will Stephenson popped up with two and Matt Traynor got behind Frawley in the third quarter but there wasn’t much else for the Hawks.

Cleared from Doveton, Casey-listed forward Riley D’Arcy made his first appearance for Rowville, but kicked only one goal and copped a yellow card. He’ll have better days this season.

Noble Park 4.5, 10.8, 14.9, 17.16 (118) d

Rowville 3.1, 5.5, 8.11, 11.17 (83)

Noble Park goals: B. Lambert 3, H. Thomas 3, C. Anagnostou 2, J. Smith, J. Sketcher, K. Martin, P. Wright, A. Erbulut, L. Nelson, A. Zijai, J. Marson, W. Collis

Best K. Martin, J. Sketcher, B. Lambert, A. Zijai, H. Thomas, C. Anagnostou

Rowville goals: M. Little 3, W. Stephenson 2, A. Frawley, P. McEwin, M. Garner, M. Sikora, Z. Alwan, R. D’Arcy.

Best: A. Frawley, Z. Alwan, M. Little, M. Sikora, M. Traynor, W. Stephenson