Rowville opens its Eastern Football League season with a 17-point win over Norwood

ROWVILLE condemned Norwood to its fourth consecutive Round 1 defeat after pulling off a gutsy 17-point win at Seebeck Oval to open its Eastern Football League season.

Steven Georgiou pulls in a mark. Picture: Stuart Milligan

ROWVILLE condemned Norwood to its fourth consecutive Round 1 defeat after pulling off a gutsy 17-point win at Seebeck Oval on Saturday.

With many players dropping like tenpins owing to cramp in the warm conditions, it was the Hawks who won the war of attrition to score a 11.17 (83) to 9.12 (66) win.

The victory was made more meritorious given Rowville was one rotation down on the bench for most the game after Daniel Zajac suffered a knee injury midway through the first quarter.

Zajac was stretchered from the ground and taken to hospital after hyperflexing his knee.

Lachlan McDonald flies for a mark. Picture: Stuart Milligan

“The one thing we spoke about all week is that we are going to get tested this year but we’ve got to stay true to what we are about and what we did all summer,” Rowville coach John Brown said.

“Under pressure, I don’t want them to panic and go back to what they used to do.

“We were under pressure on the scoreboard early yet the boys held true to the way we wanted to play and it started to turn our way ... that’s great for them to see the rewards of what they have done over summer.”

Man mountain Michael Sikora was mighty in the ruck while also providing a contested marking option, Chris Clarke bobbed up forward with a career-best haul of five goals and Gippsland Power product Will Stephenson, Noble Park recruit James Gwilt and Lachlan McDonald provided bounce off halfback.

After being held goalless in the opening term, Rowville began to arrest control of the game midway through the second term before taking a one-goal lead into three-quarter time.

However, the Hawks’ six-point advantage at the final break should have been more had it not been for wasted opportunities in front of goal.

Rowville controlled proceedings in the third quarter but kicked 4.6 to keep a tiring Norwood, who were at times uncharacteristically fumbly with the ball, in the contest.

But it was boom Hawks recruit Ziggy Alwyn who sealed the contest late in the final quarter, with his classy set shot from near the boundary giving Rowville a Round 1 win.

Trent Robertson, Jackson McDonald, Matthew Robinson and Mitchell Garner played in the reserves on the weekend and are waiting in the wings to return ahead of next weekend’s fixture against Doncaster.