Dingley took its first defeat of the Division 1 season when outplayed by St Paul’s

DINGLEY coach Shane Morwood is philosophical after his team’s long run of wins ends at the hands of St Paul’s.

Dingley’s first loss of the season is no cause for panic, according to coach Shane Morwood.

“Ah, it had to happen eventually. You can’t stay up all season. You have to have a lull at some stage,” was former Collingwood star Morwood’s philosophical response to his team’s 29-point loss to a switched-on St Paul’s outfit.

“They were really hot early and had three goals on the board before we touched the ball,” Morwood.

“They used the ball much better than we did and their pressure was really good. We simply weren’t smart enough to counteract it and turned the ball over too often by foot.

“But it wasn’t a bad loss. It was a good contest and one that we needed.

“We’ve been flat for a while and it certainly won’t do us any harm,” he added.

The Doggies had stars in Andy Gilbert, Mark Marasco and Jarryd Blenkinsop, while the mercurial Luke James was in vintage form with six goals.

Luke Walmsley, Jackson Peet, Darren Andrews and Tony Lavars were the pick of the Dingoes.

East Brighton proved far too accomplished for East Malvern in the battle of the Easts at Hurlingham Park. The Vampires led comfortably all day to coast to victory by 69 points, with Peter Larsen, Sam Jeffery and Tom Blackman leading the charge. Toby Mahoney and Damian Lynch were active up forward for the winners with four goals apiece, while Matt Carroll, Ralph Sadler and James Brooke did best for the Panthers.

Bentleigh ground its way to a hard-fought 24-point win over a plucky Heatherton at Ross Street.

The Tunners never recovered from a scoreless first term that put them 27 points in arrears at the first break, but to their credit, they outscored their visitors for the rest of the game.

Bentleigh was well led by Scott Lawry, who produced another trademark performance, with solid support coming from Tarone Smith, Matt Troutbeck and Luke Delaney.

James Robertson was busy up forward for the winners with four goals, while the Tunners’ better players included Cameron Moon, Jesse Stone, Chris Tosin and Josh Bennett.

Chelsea Heights jumped back into the top five with a well-orchestrated 57-point victory over Cheltenham at Beazley Reserve.

The Demons were superb in what their coach, Ben Lockwood, described as one of their best wins of the season.

“It was probably our best four-quarter effort to date this season and our good second quarter put us in control,” he said.

“We got on top through the middle and shut down their key playmakers.”

Luke Newton was on fire for the Demons, booting five goals from the centre.

“Three of Luke’s goals were 60m bombs,” Lockwood said.

“To be honest, I think you could say that Luke may have been one of the major differences between the two sides.”

But the Heighters also had a winner in ruckman Matt Terech, who gave the likes of Newton, Darren Walsh and Matt Banfield first use of the ball.

Young tall Pat Morrissey also got plenty of it for the winners, while Lachie Dobson did a sterling job on the dangerous Pat Nicholls.

Daniel Vaughan, Jarrad Martin and James Roscoe showed out for the Rosellas, as did Chris Graham with four goals.

St Kilda City romped away in the final term to eclipse Clayton by 28 points at Meade Reserve. After a goal-for-goal tussle for three quarters that saw just a point separate the sides at the final change, the Saints dominated the final stanza with 13 scoring shots to one to win 10-15-75 to 7-5-47.

In the end, it was the likes of Andrew Hunter, Paul Kennelley and Shane Reid who made the difference for the visitors, with Jack Belkin and Daniel McGee also prominent.

The Clays, who had their own winners in Jesse Henderson, Michael Mussared and Justin Mitrevski, among others, would have been disappointed with their fade-out in such a winnable game.

In Division 2, Caulfield stole third spot from Oakleigh when it outlasted the Oaks by eight points in a tight contest at Oakleigh.

The Bears held the upper hand for most of the day but had to work hard to hold out their hosts in a battle of the defences that saw only one goal kicked in the last quarter.

Todd Wallace, hardworking big man Jason Twirdy and Adam Ballard were among the heroes for Caulfield, while Adam Connell played his part with four goals.

The Oaks were well served by speedy stalwart Dan Kiellerup, Brent Crawley and the creative Elvis Alimovski, who snagged three handy goals.

Highett was sent tumbling out of the top five by a rejuvenated Murrumbeena, which prevailed by 15 points in a hard, tough encounter at Turner Road.

It was gutsy effort by the Lions, who have been hard hit by injuries.

“Yes, we had a few out,” conceded Beena coach Steve Wright.

“But the boys were very hard at it and we had a really good second quarter that set us up.

“They beat us by a goal first time around this season so it was good to get the points.”

Young ruckman Chris Evans continued his great form with another sterling effort for the Lions, while Dean Spanos showed glimpses of his best in only his third game back after injury. His creative play earned him three goals, while Shaun Thompson also collected three, earning praise from his coach.

“Shaun gave us some real sparkle up forward, as did Alex Moloney,” Wright said.

Jacob Duscher, Jess Elms and Peter Quinn were among the better performers for the Bulldogs, who now sit outside the top five on percentage. Although Murrumbeena is eighth, Steve Wright hasn’t ruled out finals action.

“If we continue to win and other things fall our way, we’re still a chance,” he pointed out.

It was mainly one-way traffic at Carrum Downs Reserve when Skye walloped an out-of-sorts Doveton Eagles by 75 points.

The Eagles could manage only three goals for the day and were no match for their stronger hosts.

Andrew Hook, Aaron Pacey and Michael Lindley led a cavalcade of winners for the Bombers, while the outclassed Eagles had goers in Matt Fristad, Corrie Wilson and Dylan Chadwick.

It has been a roller-coaster ride for Hampton supporters in recent weeks. Two games ago, the Hammers were sitting fourth on the Division 2 ladder before a loss sent them tumbling to seventh.

Now they’re back in fourth spot following their gutsy five-goal win over Springvale Districts at Peterson Street.

After an even first half, the Hammers pulled away after half-time and with coach Chris Worner leading by example, scored comfortably in the end, 14-15-99 to 10-9-69.

Worner booted six goals and he was well supported by Todd Crane, James Feather and Lachlan Batt.

Again it was left to big-hearted ruckman Dan Wilson and skipper Gav Vassallo to keep the Districts in with a chance, with Craig Keenan also prominent.

With only two games separating six teams from third to eighth, every match is vital and although the loss was a setback for the Districts, their run home is better than some others.

Mordialloc steamrolled its way to an emphatic 92-point win over a brave, but undermanned Moorabbin at Widdop Crescent.

The Bloods careered away after quarter-time and although the Kangaroos stuck to their task admirably, they had no answer to the likes of Todd Bastion and Daniel Lynch, who had five goals apiece.

Among the many others to show out for the winners were Carey Neville, Michael Barnhoorn and Dave Marguglio, while Shaun Jackson, Peter Gerard and the reliable Matt Johansson battled hard against the odds for the Kangaroos.

In Division 3, South Yarra put a huge dent in Lyndale’s double-chance aspirations when it upset the Pumas by 63 points at a wet and slippery Fritsch Holzer Park.

The loss saw the Pumas forfeit their third spot to Black Rock with only four games remaining before finals.

“It was really disappointing,” Lyndale coach Rodney Benstead said after the game.

“We didn’t play well and South Yarra made the most of their opportunities. We went inside our forward 50 fifty times to their 39, but we couldn’t capitalise on our forward thrusts for some reason.

“Our discipline was not up to scratch either and we played half the game with only 17 men due to send-offs. That certainly doesn’t help the cause much.

“It was one of those days where anything that could go wrong went wrong,” said Benstead.

“But it’s better to happen now than during the finals, I suppose. I think you learn more about your players from a loss and can then work on the weaknesses.”

Benstead is sure his team can bounce back.

“I’m confident we can get back on track quickly. Our destiny is in our own hands and it may have been the wake-up call we needed.”

Daniel Borg, Jordie Cellini and Oliver Smith were among those who led the Lions to victory, while Ordell Buntine, Brett Tosh and Jayden Malek were among the handful of Pumas to impress.

Ashwood kept its feint finals hopes flickering with a 43-point win over Hallam at Essex Heights Reserve.

The Magpies led comfortably at each break before finishing with 13-13-91 to 7-6-48.

Jarryd Uren, Tim Smith and Brett Figas were the standouts for the Woods, while Josh Stanton weighed in with four goals.

The Hawks had winners in Keiran Smith, Andrew Daly and Bryce Neve, while Brandon Nolan played a lone hand up forward with five of his team’s seven goals.

Sandown was again reminded of the gap between the top few teams in Division 3 and those battling for the remaining places in the five when it was crushed by ladder leader Mount Waverley by 102 points at Mayfield Reserve.

With Frank Martinicchio, Anthony La Rocca and Daniel Macklin working hard, the Cobras were competitive early but had no answers when the Mountain Lions upped the ante in the second half.

Suddenly, the hosts had winners across every line and kept the supply coming to spearhead James Gough, who finished with seven goals.

Carrum Patterson Lakes returned to its ruthless best when it devoured an undermanned Endeavour Hills by 101 points in a one-sided affair at Barry Simon Reserve.

Trevor March had a day out for the visitors and his best-afield display yielded nine goals, while Doug Watterson did his bit with five. Jordan Bertrand and Chris Mouritz were among the many other standouts for the Lions, while Aaron Brooks, Byron Hoe and Ben Swift battled valiantly for the Falcons.

Black Rock has jumped into third spot on the back of its 32-point win over Dandenong at Greaves Reserve. The Jets shook off the persistent Redlegs in the second half after leading by just five points at the long interval.

Cory Durie, Michael “Buddy’’ Spohn, Alex Shulman and pocket dynamo Terry Jepson also shone for the Jets.

The Redlegs had four-quarter performers in Shannon O’Connor, Scott Moody and Dale Jose.

THIS WEEK

DIV 1

Bentleigh v East Brighton

East Malvern v Chelsea Heights

Cheltenham v St Paul’s

St Kilda City v Heatherton

Dingley v Clayton

DIV 2

Caulfield v Skye

Murrumbeena v Hampton

Doveton Eagles v Highett

Springvale Dist v Mordialloc

Moorabbin v Oakleigh Dist

DIV 3

Lyndale v Hallam

Sandown v Dandenong

South Yarra v Endeavour Hills

Black Rock v Ashwood

Carrum Patt Lakes v Mt Waverley