NEPEAN LEAGUE
FRANKSTON Bombers were brought back to earth with a thud after being thrashed by Somerville in Nepean Division on Saturday.
With wins against Pearcedale and Tyabb in the opening rounds of the season, the Bombers were confident about their chances against last year’s grand finalists.
However, the Bombers were never threatening throughout the match, were behind at every change and were blown away in the final quarter to go down by almost 10 goals, 18.9 (117) to 8.15 (63).
The scoreboard would suggest that the Bombers were always in the contest, until the final quarter, however, the reality was that they just didn’t have the contribution across the board to challenge.
Dale Sutton through the middle worked hard, Ryan Marks-Logan was superb in the back half, Josh Chapman ran hard and competed well and Michael Mairorino booted three goals and looked to be the only dangerous forward.
On the flip side, Somerville was in control and dominating in most areas of the ground.
Scott Simpson was clearly the best player on the ground with 28 possessions and more than 20 marks. According to those at the ground, Simpson should have nine league votes.
Timmy McGennis had 36 touches through the middle, Rowan Hogenbirk had 22 and booted a couple of goals and Jedd Sutton had plenty of it.
In attack, Ben Crowe (three goals), Tom Shaw (three) and Luke Rowe (four) looked incredibly dangerous.
In defence is where the game was won for the Eagles.
The back six of Luke Collie, Kane McKenzie, Ben Sedgewick, Jacob Wilson, Tim Hirst and Simpson were dominant. McKenzie smashed Beau Muston, Sedgewick dominated Zac Longham and Wilson, Collie and Hirst mopped up everything. The Eagles’ back six were as cool as ice.
Other than Mairorino, the Bombers didn’t look like kicking a goal.
The Bombers needed to find a spark and there was not one player that could provide it. Sam Fox booted seven against Tyabb the week before but didn’t give a yelp on Saturday. Muston spent the entire match at one end of the ground, had just 11 touches and didn’t inject himself into the game at any stage.
Nathan Lonie was left to do the ruckwork after Ryan Kitchen went down with a hamstring.
The 54-point margin was a fair reflection of the game. The Eagles opened the door a few times by overusing the footy through the middle of the ground. Frankston couldn’t make them pay.
The Bombers still have plenty of work to do, while the Eagles were going at 80 per cent and still won by nine goals.
Rye is on top of the Nepean ladder after once again highlighting the benefit of strong preparation with a convincing 31-point victory against Devon Meadows.
The Panthers led by two points at half time and trailed by just nine points at three quarter time, however, Rye booted six goals to two in the last, against the breeze, to win 16.11 (107) to 11.10 (76).
Meadows’ coach Glenn Michie said undisciplined acts, reversed free kicks and 50 metre penalties cost his side the win.
“A lack of concentration when it mattered most hurt us and we just couldn’t go with them in the end,” Michie said.
Matt Greig was on fire for the Demons, finishing the game with eight goals, while Ryan Mullett was superb and Matt Dunn again performed a shut-down role on the dangerous Steve Roberts.
Adam Kirkwood in game 151 also shone, along with Harry Witty, who has started the season in great form.
Pat Boland and Pat Harmes were the best of the Meadows, while Chris Doria booted three goals.
While the results said Michie and Boland were sent from the field, it proved to be an administration error.
Rosebud were humiliated on Saturday by Hastings, going down by more than 100 points, 20.11 (131) to 3.10 (28).
The Blues laid 104 tackles for the match, showcasing the supreme pressure that just didn’t allow the reigning premier any free run.
The dangerous Nick Boswell was shut down at half back for the Buds and was forced to move on to the ball to get a kick.
The coach Michael Kraska failed to kick a goal. He has just one major in three matches.
The Blues had nine goal kickers with Luke Hewitt booting four and Col McVeigh and Dale Alanis three each. Mark Devereaux again dominated for four quarters. Josh Mulheron was also supreme and gave his smalls first use of the footy.
With wins against Sorrento and Rosebud, the Blues have announced themselves once again as a genuine threat to the title.
Crib Point is in a world of pain after losing its second ‘winnable’ game on Saturday, this time to Pearcedale, 16.16 (112) to 11.8 (74).
Magpies coach Taylor Stratton was extremely optimistic about his team’s chances early in the season, however, he would be having a long, hard look in the mirror right now and wondering what is going wrong.
Other than a competitive second quarter, the Magpies were never in the match.
Pearcedale were relentless and coach Jamie Merchan pulled the move of the year to date by putting Ben Mitchell to full forward. The man mountain known as ‘Bear’ finished with eight goals, while Alex Harnett and Lachy Marshall dominated.
Red Hill did what it had to do and get the four points against Tyabb but it wasn’t overly convincing.
The Hillmen squandered opportunities early in the match and had 16 scoring shots to just three in the first half.
However, the Hillmen allowed the opposition to go toe-to-toe in the second half, booting eight goals to Tyabb’s six. At the final siren the score was 13.15 (93) to 6.6 (42).
Nick Walsh was superb for the Hillmen yet again at full back and Blake McCormack and Matt Dillon worked tirelessly.
In more exciting news for the Hillmen, they have picked up Tom McKinley from the VAFA, while Jake Mold is also returning and should play next week, along with Harry Larwill, who is back from suspension.
First published in the Mornington News – 19 April 2016
