Cranbourne secured its first win of the 2025 season in the Southern Division 1 competition after defeating Port Melbourne by eight points.
It has been a difficult start to the year for the Eagles who had lost six consecutive matches prior to last weekend, but the monkey is now off the back.
It was a must-win game for Cranbourne against a Colts side which has also struggled this season with a similar 1-6 record.
While it is only a small step for the Eagles, it is a step in the right direction and was a crucial opportunity to release some pressure ahead of a tough match-up against undefeated Dingley this weekend.
Coach Angelo Soldatos said he was “relieved” to get the first win on the board, and hoped to build momentum from here.
“The players have been doing a lot of work, training hard and doing heaps of vision, so I am really happy for them to get a bit of reward,” he said.
“I don’t think we have been that bad (this season), we just haven’t got over the line.
“We have been in good positions in some games, but we have made some really bad mistakes which have cost us.”
The Eagles started the match well as second-gamer Romeo Bellinvia kicked a nice snap goal, his first in senior football, as his teammates swarmed him in celebration.
But then it was the ‘Chan Hargreaves show’ as the Footscray VFL player turned it on in the next couple of minutes, producing three shots on goal, two contested marks, one broken tackle and one running bounce.
The big man kicked 2.1 in just a few minutes and quickly put the scoreboard in favour of his side 20-6, making the most of his VFL bye.
But Nicholas Darbyshire provided the quick reply at the other end to steady his side, as the key forward was influential in the opening term.
From here, the game tightened up and scoring dried up as both sides locked horns in every contest, desperately working for every loose ball.
There was lead change after lead change, until Cranbourne finally got a bit of breathing space with a 16-point lead in the final term thanks to Darbyshire slotting his fourth major of the day.
But Hargreaves was not done yet as the big man roved the ball off the pack at a boundary throw-in, burnt off Jake Cowburn and snapped home his third goal of the day.
Port Melbourne continued to press; firing shots on goal late in the game, but the Eagles held on and sung the song for the first time this season.
“It was a pretty tight game and we sort of knew what they were going to be like, they are a really good contested ball team and we knew we had to match it with them and get them on the outside,” Soldatos said.
“It’s stating the obvious but we needed Saturday for the confidence of the group … we are looking forward to having a crack at Dingley this weekend.”
Bailey Buntine and Glenn Osborne were welcome inclusions for the match, as was Lewis Robbins.
“Buntine and Osborne are both guns and are underrated in the competition, but to have their experience was important, they understand the game really well,” Soldatos said.
“We really missed them last week, especially with their ball use, as they both use it very well.
“It was also really good to have Lewis Robbins back in the side, I reckon that was his best game for the club.”
Captain Zak Roscoe and deputy vice-captain Nicholas Darbyshire were also instrumental in the victory.
“It was probably Zak’s best game for the year and his contest stuff was super important … Darby is getting better every week and is a tough match-up because he is really athletic but is also 197cm,” Soldatos said.
Soldatos said the most pleasing thing was the way the club stuck together on a challenging day, dealing with the passing of a footy club member.
“It is one of those things that is much bigger than footy, pre-game we didn’t even talk about footy, it puts life into perspective,” he said.
“We just said to the players to be good teammates and stick together, it is going to be hard and there were some guys in the room really affected by it … so it was good to get a win and put a smile on some faces.”
SOUTHERN DIVISION 1
CRANBOURNE 4.1 6.3 9.4 11.7 (73)
PORT MELBOURNE 4.2 7.5 7.7 9.11 (65)
Cranbourne Goals: Nicholas Darbyshire 4, Jake Hill, Zak Roscoe 2, Romeo Bellinvia, Ryan Jones, Kyle Lanham.
Best: Zak Roscoe, Bailey Buntine, Jake Hill, Lewis Robbins, Glenn Osborne, Ryan Jones.
Port Melbourne Goals: Mitch Clarke, Chan Hargreaves 3, Luke McComb 2, Nick Heuston.
Best: Jess Mildenhall, Chan Hargreaves, Rory Lehmann, Michael Hibberd, Justin Taylor, Mitch Clarke.
OTHER GAMES – Rd 7: Dingley 10.11 (71) def Murrumbeena 6.6 (42), Springvale Districts 14.14 (98) def East Brighton 8.15 (63), St Paul’s McKinnon 10.9 (69) def Cheltenham 6.7 (43).
LADDER: Dingley 28, St Paul’s McKinnon 20, Bentleigh 18, East Brighton, Springvale Districts, Cheltenham 16, Narre Warren 10, Murrumbeena 8, Port Melbourne, Cranbourne 4.
FIXTURE – Rd 8: Cranbourne (10) v Dingley (1), Port Melbourne (9) v East Brighton (4), Springvale Districts (5) v Narre Warren (7), St Paul’s McKinnon (2) v Bentleigh (3), Murrumbeena (8) v Cheltenham (6).
