By Tyler Lewis
AFL OUTER EAST DIVISION 1
REVIEW – ROUND 1
It has been a long time coming!
September 22, 2019, was the last time two Division 1 premiership fancies faced off and on Saturday Monbulk and Officer didn’t disappoint playing out a red time heart-stopper in front of a bumper crowd at the Monbulk Football Ground.
The two teams were merely inseparable throughout the full four quarters, with the biggest deficit at any of the intervals being just 10 points.
The big men from either side took the ascendancy, Roos stalwart Sean Roach finished the day with four, while the Hawks’ boom recruit Taylor Joyce also booted four in his sides’ winning cause.
With the Hawks kicking five minor scores in each of the first three terms, wayward kicking loomed as the side’s potential downfall with Doug Koop’s men proving deadly in front of goal.
But it was the last ten minutes of the match that had all the supporters on the edge of their seats.
Despite the two goal buffer at the final change, the Roos jumped out of the blocks and at one stage took a two goal lead of their own when Roach slotted his fourth.
Joyce heard the call from his side and stepped up, delivering his fourth for the day and bringing the hosts within a kick as only a number of minutes remained.
If the drama of football’s return hadn’t already satisfied the Outer East crowd, then the last five minutes were certainly going to do so.
Daniel Banks slotted his solitary major, levelling the scores with 28 gone in the last.
A Casey Wassylko snap added to the theatre of the opening round. The ball went through for a minor score, giving the Roos the lead, but it was only momentarily, as the umpire paid a free kick only a second earlier – reversing the score and holding the scores deadlocked.
As the ball made its way deep inside the Hawks forward 50, William Mutschler was able to get a quick boot away to slot the eventual winner with a whopping 33 minutes gone.
In a game dripping with theatre, Monbulk got the edge on a fellow premiership contender, coming away 12.15 (87) to 12.9 (81) winners.
Seville’s twin towers sent a fierce message to the rest of the competition on Saturday, when Leigh Williams and Nathan O’Keefe combined for 13 majors in its 17.13 (115) to 10.13 (73) win over Gembrook Cockatoo.
Seville was down by two straight kicks at the main break, but slammed home 13 second half goals in its 42-point win.
O’Keefe booted nine majors and his partner in crime slotted four.
Mt Evelyn, meanwhile, were led by a Michael Gibbons special, as it claimed a 15.13 (103) to 7.14 (56) win over Emerald.
The game opened up immensely in the second term, where a combined 10.5 was kicked.
But unfortunately for the Bombers sake, it was able to jag four, but conceded six in reply, extending the men in Maroon’s lead.
Gibbons – who was among Mt Evelyn’s best players in the reserves grand final loss to Pakenham in 2019 – was more than a handful for the Bombers, kicking seven of the Rovers 15 majors.
Berwick Springs is striking at 100 per cent in its one game history, claiming its first win in its first outing in the Outer East.
The Titans led at every change and came away 12.16 (88) to 9.11 (65) winners.
Mitch Van De Loop slotted three, while Jayden Malek was named best afield.
Monbulk coach Andrew Williams was impressed with his sides’ will to fight over the line, despite being down by two kicks late in the match.
“I think it is a little bit of an unknown of where all the sides are at, but we knew it was going to be a contest,” he said.
“Round one is always tight, no matter who you play. They (Officer) served it up to us for the whole day; it was one of those games that was always going to be decided by a tight margin.
“I felt there was a lot of momentum swings, we were very thankful that we were in front at the end.
“I must admit, I felt with that momentum going with Officer it was going to be tough.
“We hadn’t played our best footy for a fair bit of the day and when the momentum was with them, we had to find a little bit.
“Our guys dug in and had that five minute patch where we able to hit the scoreboard and hit the front.
“It was a pretty exciting way to start the year,” Williams said.
Former Dandenong Stingrays spearhead Taylor Joyce has been locked and loaded for Monbulk for some time now, and on the weekend he proved he was worth the wait.
And with a longer stint on the sidelines than most, Williams believes the key forward is only going to get better with time throughout the season.
“He (Taylor Joyce) was a really big contributor to the result,” he said.
“He was our best forward, he kicked 4.4, he is only going to get better.
“We know he has the talent, I think he just needs footy now and with that confidence of knowing he can get back to doing what he does well and kicking goals, it was pleasing and I think he will enjoy those opportunities.”
