Northern Football League beaten by Mornington Peninsula Nepean League in AFL Victoria Community Championships

IT WILL be north against west next year in the AFL Victoria Community Championships after the Northern Football League went down by 30 points to the MPFNL on Saturday.

The MPFNL proved too strong for the NFL on Saturday. Picture: Paul Loughnan.

IT WILL be north against west next year in the AFL Victoria Community Championships after the Northern Football League went down by 30 points to the Mornington Peninsula Nepean league on Saturday.

The MPFNL prevailed 18.14 (122) to 14.8 (92) at Rye Oval, withstanding a second-half surge from the NFL side.

The hosts led by 34 points midway through the third quarter before the NFL rallied, sparked by a goal from co-captain Jesse Donaldson at the 20-minute mark.

Whittlesea forward Andrew Fairchild and Northcote Park’s Wayne Schultz booted two goals in less than two minutes before the three-quarter-time siren, cutting the deficit to 15 points.

Fitzroy Stars Peter Hood kept the NFL’s momentum going with the first major of the last term as Robert Hyde’s side drew within nine points.

But it was not to be for the NFL as Daniel Gormley, Scott Macleod and former North Melbourne and Richmond forward Aaron Edwards answered the challenge for the MPFNL.

“They had more firepower up forward and their ball use was a fair bit more efficient than ours was,” Hyde said.

“At stages there we could have got blown away, we had three blokes on the bench injured after halftime.

“But they kept coming back and worked really hard.

“All in all, they had a fair dinkum crack.”

The visitors limited the impact of the Peninsula’s star-studded forward line in the opening quarter, building a 10-point quarter-time advantage.

The hosts dominated the second quarter, taking a stranglehold on the contest in a devastating 15-minute burst.

After Justin Van Unen goaled with 17 minutes on the clock, the MPFNL piled on six goals — including five in the final six minutes of the half — to lead by 21 at the main break.

“We worked really hard, with about 7-8 minutes to go in that quarter I think we got 10 points in front,” Hyde said.

“They kicked 5-6 goals, we went in three and a half or four goals down.

“But they were brave enough and we fought back ... but just faded a little bit.”

Defender Cam Elmore, from Lower Plenty, was named the NFL’s best player.

Macleod will be sweating on the fitness of Kane Shaw, Hamish Paynter and Liam Brandt who all finished the game with knocks.

The defeat left the NFL fifth in the rankings, setting up a date with the Western Region FL next year. The WRFL pipped the Ballarat league by three points to climb to sixth in the rankings