FOOTBALL
Seniors
Monbulk travelled to Upwey for their round 9 clash to bring the first half of the season to a close.
While Wandin and Narre Warren have established a three game break over the rest of the field, the remaining seven clubs in Premier Division are separated by just two wins.
After receiving a severe defeat last week, and losing three more players to injury, facing the Tigers at Upwey would mean that Monbulk would find themselves either last or just out of the Top Five depending on the outcome.
Conditions were close to ideal for the middle of June with sunny breaks and a crosswind.
Upwey began well to lead comfortably at the first change after scoring four goals to one and maintained a 15 point buffer at the long break.
A short shower during the half-time interval left the ground slippery on resumption of the second half. Monbulk handled the conditions better for most of the third quarter with pressure football to get within a goal but two late Tigers goals left the margin unchanged heading into the last term. Monbulk resumed their attack and reaped the rewards late in the last term with three goals with some good running and ball movement.
They hit the front for the first time with less than three minutes to play and were still attacking as the siren sounded for a euphoric win over their traditional rivals.
Upwey-Tecoma 9.7.61 def by Monbulk 9.10.64
Best: Lochlan Beecroft, Glenn Strachan, Joshua Spencer, Lachlan Sheppard, Thomas Taylor, Ben Grimes
Goals: Harry Fleming 2, Mackay Bateson 1, Glenn Strachan 1, Ziggy Hatherley 1, Lewis Oliver 1, Brodie Emmett 1, Joel Wensley 1, Thomas Taylor 1
Reserves
Coming into this weeks’ match, the Upwey-Tecoma Reserves were undefeated on top of the ladder with a percentage of around 350.
The nearest that any opponent had gotten to them this year was 28 points.
Monbulk were still sitting inside the Top Five, but only just as the points lost from one of their wins due to an accidental administrative issue left them precariously balanced.
The game ended up being an engrossing encounter with Upwey holding on to a slender lead for most of the time.
Two late goals by Monbulk brought them to within a goal but the siren sounded just as the Hawks were again attacking and trying in vain to level proceedings.
Upwey-Tecoma 6.11.47 def Monbulk 6.5.41
Best: Hamish Emmett, Cameron Griffiths, Ryan Pentreath, Joshua Iacuone, Jayden Mauchline, Beau James
Goals: Michael Langworthy 3, Brandon Shambrooke 1, Jayden Mauchline 1, Michael Davies 1
Under 19s
After winning five of the opening six games of the season, Monbulk went into this match against Upwey having lost their last three straight.
They were again short on players and only had 16 to Upwey’s 22.
The Tigers gained an early ascendancy of 19 points by quarter time but the Hawks fought out the game and it was a fairly even contest from that point until the final siren.
Upwey-Tecoma 7.9.51 def Monbulk 3.8.26
Best: Nick Taylor, Tait Colee, Riley Finlay, Jacob Defina, Coby Passingham, Noah Rutherford
Goals: Charlie Barge 1, Thijs Koelewyn 1, Jai Farmer 1
Womens
Monbulk’s women’s team put up a spirited effort against the second placed Tigers and in the second and final terms combined restricted them to just a single goal and a handful of behinds. With the ball hovering in Upwey’s half of the ground for most of the match it was determined effort by the Hawks defenders to restrict the Tigers for long periods but ultimately the weight of forward entries told on the scoreboard.
Upwey-Tecoma 8.16.64 def Monbulk 0.1.1
Best: Josie Ford, Maddison Dodd, Ayla Short, Hannah Joy, Kathryn Gow, Shaye McLean
NETBALL
A Grade
Monbulk are starting to show some good form heading into the halfway mark of the season. The Hawks controlled the play after the first term and it was again a dominant third quarter that set up this match, scoring 16-4, allowing the team to run out comfortable 19 goal winners eventually.
Upwey-Tecoma 37 def by Monbulk 56
Best: Tiana Mancarella, Jen Dewhurst, Sophie Stubbs
Goals: Peri Reid 52, Jen Dewhurst 4
B Grade
This match was largely decided in the opening quarter when the Tigers made better use of their opportunities and opened up a seven goal lead. After this the game was fairly even but the damage had been done. Monbulk have dropped to eighth but are still within striking distance of the Top 5 as they enter the second half of the season.
Upwey-Tecoma 53 def Monbulk 45
Best: Paige Rondinella, Siobhan Munday, Rihanna Kelly
Goals: Paige Rondinella 39, Dayna Walsham 3, Chloe Schmidtke 3
C Grade
Monbulk and Upwey had a close encounter for most of the day where the defenders of both sides deserve credit in restricting scoring. It was a 10-4 second term by the Tigers which ultimately secured them their win as the Hawks had the better of the scoring for rest of the game but could not recover from that setback
Upwey-Tecoma 32 def Monbulk 29
Best: Laura Del Biondo, Cody Sharp, Jamie Sands
Goals: Jamie Sands 22, Laura Del Biondo 5, Chloe Schmidtke 2
D Grade
This game was a chance to claim some pride as the two sides were both yet to open their accounts for the year. Monbulk was bolstered by the return of Shayne Broekhof, who had missed almost 2 years since having a knee reconstruction, and her experience was an invaluable addition to the team. It was an absorbing game and a great reward for this team that has been reformed this year with a new young squad.
Upwey-Tecoma 17 def by Monbulk 20
Best: Caitlin Utting, Sammi Kelly, Kate Smith
Goals: Sammi Kelly 13, Kate Smith 7
