By Stephen Walter
HIGH scoring was expected when Healesville hosted Gembrook Cockatoo in perfect conditions, but it was just the opposite. Gembrook’s defence was outstanding all day, holding the Bloods to just three goals while Gembrook finished with 10.
The Brookers set the win up in the first half, going to the long break with a 32-point lead, and the second half was a battle of the backlines with only four goals kicked. Gembrook’s Lee Clark was outstanding up forward booting six of his team’s 10 goals.
Score:Gembrook 10.9 (69) d Healesville 3.11 (29)
Best: Gembrook: N. Laversha, A. Walker, R. Clark. Healesville: J. Goding, L. Gardiner, T. Krikas.
DIVISION 1 newcomer Olinda Ferny Creek travelled to Monbulk and was shown no mercy as Monbulk handed out a 65-point thumping.
Olinda battled hard and managed to stay in touch up to three-quarter time, but Monbulk’s class showed in the last as they ran away with the game, booting eight goals to one. Shaun Lucas and Timothy Wragg did the damage up forward for the winners with four goals each.
Score:Monbulk 15.18 (108) d Olinda 6.7 (43)
Best:Monbulk: L. Mc-Cormick, K. Gray, S. Kelp. Olinda Ferny Creek: B. Day, G. McDonald and O. Millwood.
LAST year’s premiers, Upwey Tecoma, took on Mount Evelyn at Mount Evelyn and came away with a hard-fought 12-point victory. The contest went right down to the wire and will be hard to top this season.
Mount Evelyn started slightly better and looked just a touch more polished than Upwey in the first half and went into the long break with a nine-point lead.
Upwey came out after the break and started to show some of last year’s premiership form to hit the front by five points at three-quarter-time.
If not for inaccuracy it could have been further ahead after a 5.6 to 4.4 term.
Score: Upwey 18.18 (126) d Mount Evelyn 16.18 (114)
Best – Upwey Tecoma: S. Dawson, J. Orger, S. Mitchell. Mount Evelyn: B. Farrugia, S. Tesoriero, C. Haworth.
A WHOPPING 42 goals were scored between these two sides. Warby got off to an absolute flyer with 8.8 in the first quarter and holding Silvan to just three behinds.
The remainder of the game turned out to be reasonably even as each team added 17 goals.
Warby was wasteful in front of the big sticks and should have ended up with more goals. Silvan, to its credit, did hit back after a shocking start and was outscored by only 10 points after quarter-time. Score:Warburton Millgrove 25.23 (173) d Silvan 17.8 (110)
Best: Warburton Millgrove: G. Newing, A. Newing, J. Iacono. Silvan: B. Straughair, D. Wale, S. Toohey.
@BT Sport Sub Mail:DIVISION 2
IN AN enthralling game both teams could be proud of, Alexandra held a six-point lead at half-time and would have been thinking it was its best chance for a win for more than a year.
But Yarra Junction was not to be denied as it booted five goals to three in the third quarter to take a nine-point lead going into the last.
Alexandra had its opportunities in the final term but it was Junction that made the most of its chances, kicking 4.1 to Alex’s 3.4.
Score: Yarra Junction 15.10 (100) d Alexandra 13.10 (88)
Best:Yarra Junction: N. Syme, D. Kiernan, H. Wadsworth. Alexandra: P. Cummins, B. Leary, J. Kidd.
KINGLAKE got on the winners list after its first-round loss to Yarra Glen by defeating Emerald in a big way.
After an even first half, with Kinglake leading by just 10 points, the Lakers turned it on after the break booting 10.8 and holding Emerald to just one goal for the half.
Kinglake mounted attack after attack from its backline and Emerald just had no answers. Score:Kinglake 19.20 (134) d Emerald 10.5 (65)
Best:Kinglake: J. Atkins, L. Nott, J. Sibenaler. Emerald: J. Cousins, R. Sonogan.
BELGRAVE remains undefeated after accounting for Powelltown by 24 points.
There wasn’t much between the two sides and it came down to who could use the ball more efficiently. Powelltown had just as much of the ball as its opponents and in fact had one more scoring shot, but it was Belgrave that was more direct and its six-goals-to-two third quarter set up the win.
Score:Belgrave 20.17 (137) d Powelltown 15.23 (113)
Best: Belgrave: P. Gough, J. Boek, K. Stasek. Powelltown: S. Camilleri, B. McDonald, C. Ozols.
THE first half was outstanding: Seville had the ascendancy in the first quarter with six goals to four, but Thornton hit back to take the lead into half-time after a seven-goal-to-two second quarter.
Seville should have put this game away in the third term but scored a wasteful 2.9 to Thornton’s 1.2, which saw Thornton holding a three-point lead at the last change. Seville finished stronger and finished the day with 4.3 to one goal in the last term to win in what some would consider a lucky victory. Score:Seville 14.17 (101) d Thornton Eildon 13.5 (83)
Best:Seville: D. Troyahn, P. Lister, T. Eddy. Thornton Eildon: S. Creighton, S. Galea, A. Redden.
YARRA Glen is now a clear flag favourite after its 99-point win over Yea at Yea. In a flying start, the Glen booted nine goals to two in the first quarter, and backed it up with a six-goal-to-one second term.
Yarra Glen’s Ryan Kueffer was unstoppable up forward and finished the day with eight majors.
Yea didn’t give up and outscored Yarra Glen five goals to three in the third quarter but Yarra Glen finished better with five goals to one in the final quarter for a second successive big win. Score:Yarra Glen 23.20 (158) d Yea 9.5 (59) Best:Yarra Glen: R. Kueffer, R. Cowen, M. Ashton. Yea: C. Graham, M. McKenna, A. Ferguson.
For details visit yvmdfl.com.au.
