By Nick Creely
SOUTH EAST FOOTBALL NETBALL LEAGUE
REVIEW – ROUND 2
When it came to the crunch moments, periods of play that were pivotal in deciding who would walk away with the four points, Beaconsfield stood tall.
In the opening stages of the final term at Holm Park in the battle of the Eagles, with Beaconsfield locked on 4.4(28) and Cranbourne on 3.8(26), an opportunistic, and sublime goal gave the home side a momentum unable to be contained.
From a boundary throw in deep in the Eagles’ forward 50, a handball fell in the hands of Riley Verbi, who bended a banana off balance straight through the goals from just outside the boundary, an extremely difficult piece of magic made to look easier than it was.
Only seconds later, Verbi struck again, soccering the ball through from the goal square to give the Eagles a 14 point buffer, and more importantly, a match winning lead.
In a match where only eight goals had been scored to the point, to score two in only a matter of minutes broke the game wide open.
And it’s those moments from Verbi – a talented young player – that has excitement building at Holm Park.
The Eagles were unable to find enough opportunities at goal to ever threaten the lead once more, and as the rain maintained a steady presence, it was game over.
But it was a match where despite Cranbourne’s best efforts through a zippy Clayton McCartney, some dourness in defence by Brandon Osborne and some tough grunt work in the stoppages by Shaun Marusic, Beaconsfield seemed to have the ascendency.
The ruck battle was also a spectacle in itself, with both Michael Boland and Scott Meyer in vintage touch in the beginning stages of the season, but it was Meyer that took the chocolates with his aerial presence and ability to manoeuvre his taps extremely impressive.
The home side staved off some excellent pressure from O’Brien’s chargers in the first half, taking a two point lead into half time after a terrific running goal from Tom Marks prior to the main break gave his side the momentum.
It remained a battle of territory heading into the third quarter, with both sides desperate to claw the ball forward and snaffle up any opportunities presented.
But until the moment that Verbi changed the game with two utterly brilliant pieces of goal sense, it was tight on the scoreboard despite Beaconsfield appearing as the more dominant outfit.
But rest assured, both sides are up to their eye balls as they build their form into 2018, but it was the Eagles from Holm Park that get the bragging rights this time.
Beaconsfield 6.6(42)
Cranbourne 4.10(34)
DOVETON v PAKENHAM
Make no mistake about it; this was a massive clash for both sides.
Staring down the barrel of a 0-3 record to start the season, the pressure was certainly on Doveton when Pakenham made their way to AJ Robinson Oval in horrendous conditions on Saturday.
The Lions showed some competitive signs in their opening round defeat to Tooradin-Dalmore under lights last week, while the Doves were found out by Cranbourne and Officer by hefty margins.
Finding plenty of the footy early, and winning the ball cleanly at the stoppages, a piece of brute strength from big ruckman Russ Gabriel got the Doves the opening major of the afternoon.
Only 20 metres from goal, Gabriel outmuscled Lions ruckman Trent Wreford from the throw in, snapping a goal from nowhere.
A clever piece of work from Pakenham’s Jake Thompson gave the visitors the perfect reply only minutes later with a snap goal, but the Doves were full of life, playing a tough brand of footy through the likes of Mitch Cotter, Matt Stapleton and the highly touted Gach Nyuon, who was leaping high into the sky to give the home side first use.
But after taking the seven point lead into quarter time, it began to unravel.
The Lions started getting it on their own terms, but some wasteful goal kicking in the third quarter – 2.4, squandered a chance to gain a considerable lead, and had to be content with a five point margin heading into the final term.
With Liam Tyrrell oozing class, Chris Cardona and James Harrison providing valuable leadership, the Lions roared home with some impressive pressure, restricting the Doves to just one more goal for the match, a Mitch Cotter set shot after the final siren.
Pakenham coach Ash Green was proud that his side was able to grab the win in trying conditions.
“We came into the weekend knowing it wasn’t going to be high scoring, similar to the other games,” he said.
“It was really pleasing seeing the work rate at the weekend; we worked extremely hard to get the result.”
While the Lions managed 5.12 and could have potentially won by more than just six points, Green highlighted some key areas that were dominated by his team.
“Our defensive stuff, tackling and pressure were great, and we got some reward for that, but our kicking wasn’t straight,” he said.
“Overall we had some really good signs.”
And while Tyrrell and Cardona played some brilliant individual matches, something not lost on Green, some of the club’s recruits certainly caught his eye.
“Cooper Sheppard down back was great for us, and Trent Wreford did a great job against Russ Gabriel, so those two did a great job, and Jay Jay Peni did some really nice things,” he said.
Pakenham will play on Anzac Day next Wednesday against Officer away, while Doveton won’t play again until 29 April, in an away clash against Berwick.
Doveton 5.6(36)
Pakenham 5.12(42)
