Southern Football Netball League: Dingley gets over ‘bogey side’ St Pauls to climb to second
Dingley finally got the better of St Pauls to jump to second as it gets tight at the top of SFNL Division 1
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The top of the Division 1 ladder tightened on Saturday when Dingley outplayed St Pauls by 46 points at Souter Oval.
With Cheltenham’s loss to Port Colts, just four points separate the top four teams, with the Dingoes moving into second place at the expense of St. Pauls, which drops to fourth.
For Dingley coach Shane Morwood, Saturday’s win got a certain monkey off his back.
“St Pauls has been a bit of a bogey team for us,” he said. “It was the first time we’ve beaten them for about three years. We didn’t even beat them when we won the premiership.
“It was a motivating factor for us and I was really happy with our effort.
“We maintained pressure and used the ball well.
“We’ve been building in recent weeks and are starting to find some consistency.”
Just a few kicks separated the teams all day before the Dingoes struck a purple patch early in the final quarter, kicking four goals in 10 minutes to propel them to a 13.7 (85) to 5.9 (39) win.
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Jayden Gregory’s effort on the Doggies’ ever-dangerous Matt Kreymborg was crucial while Remmi Wood, Aaron Edmunds and Lucas Walmsley all played important roles.
Meanwhile, St Kilda City kept its faint finals hopes flickering with a 37-point win over Highett at Turner Road.
The Saints dominated for three quarters, with Josh Cochrane, Jordan Tabakman and Misilifi Faimalo leading the way.
But, to their credit, the Bulldogs finished strongly and, after trailing by 10 goals at the final break, they booted five goals to add some credibility to the final scoreline of 13.7 (85) to 7.6 (48).
Sam Jackson, Nathan Scott and Ary Friedman were among the Bulldogs’ best players.
Mordialloc has jumped back into the top five on the back of its impressive 52-point victory over Bentleigh at Bentleigh Reserve.
The Bloods led at every break before saluting, 12.15 (87) to 5.5 (35).
Mitch Smart and Nathan Stagg did well for the Demons, while Liam Hogton-Hewish was solid all day.
Port Melbourne Colts stamped themselves as genuine contenders when they toughed it out for an 11-point win over top side Cheltenham at Jack Barker Oval, 10.8 (68) to 7.15 (57).
The Rosellas, who still hold top spot, had winners in Daniel Vaughan, Luke Garnaut and Cameron Blitsas.
Despite outscoring its host in the second half, Heatherton left it all too late and went down to Hampton, 12.15 (87) to 10.6 (66) in their Division 2 clash at Peterson St on Saturday.
Travis Faull and Michael Bruce were solid all day for the Tunners while Mark Stevens was on target with four goals.
And, in Division 4, Lyndhurst easily accounted for Moorabbin by 125 points, 20.9 (129) to 3.6 (24).
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