By DAVID NAGEL
PAKENHAM’s destination is still unknown in the Casey Cardinia Football league but its sweet journey continues after a 101-point victory over Keysborough at Toomuc Reserve.
The Lions, who have now moved into second place on the CCFL ladder, started their season disastrously before kicking into gear and winning nine of their last 10 matches.
It’s an amazing achievement by the Lions who, it could be argued, had up to eight of their starting 22 sitting on the sidelines on the weekend.
Names like Russ Lehman, Sam Blackwood, Chris Cardona, Jarrod Tonks, Jason Fisher, Ben Keane, Sean Winsall, Damian Talbot, and you can throw in a ninth, last year’s CCFL Team of the Year defender, Michael Taurua, were all missing from Saturday’s line-up.
What that has done is opened up opportunity, with seven of the starting line-up on the weekend still eligible to play at under-19 level. The latest of those, Brad Cavalot, made his debut against the Burra on Saturday as the Lions, who enjoyed the step down from Group to Handicap level, took the initiative from the start.
The home-side kicked out to a 21-point lead at quarter time, before a dominant 7.7 to 1.2 second term put the issue beyond doubt. The Lions kept attacking after the main break but, probably to the detriment of their defence as the Burra doubled their output, from three to six goals in the second half.
Pakenham’s goals came from unlikely sources, with youngsters Blake Rout and Troy Toussaint chipping in with five and four goals respectively, while the more experienced Cory Lenders and Jason Williams chimed in with three apiece.
The Lions mid-field brigade of Dean Blake, Dom Paynter and Anthony Young joined Toussaint and Lenders as the Lions’ best players while regular full back Nathan Brown slipped forward to kick a goal of his own. The Lions now have a week for the mid-season bye before hitting the road to take on Tooradin on 19 July.
Doveton is another side with plenty to crow about after the Doves made it four wins in succession with a 53-point victory over ROC.
The Kangaroos were expected to trouble the Doves for pace, but it was a thought that proved a fallacy as the home side skipped out to an early lead and didn’t miss a beat from there. A 7.5 to 2.2 third quarter saw Shannon Henwood’s boys not only lock away the four points, but play their best footy for the season.
Ricky Hayes kicked four, and Lachie Batten three for the winners, while Michael ‘Pickles’ Henry, Michael Rodriquez, Mitch Anderson and Cam Williamson were other players to shine. Blair Allan kicked three and Anthony Vanin played a blinder for the Kangaroos.
Round 12 will be completed this Saturday when Narre Warren hosts Berwick, Cranbourne welcomes Tooradin down the South Gippsland Highway and Beaconsfield will fill its boots with a huge win over Hampton Park.
The Narre Warren versus Berwick contest will have a huge bearing on where the Wickers finish at season’s end.
No-one expects the Wickers to win this one, but with Magpie stars like Michael Collins, Kain Baskaya and Josh Tonna all away representing the VCFL No.2 team against the VAFA, the door might be ajar for the Wickers to walk through.
A win will basically assure the Wickers of a double-chance at the end of the season while a fourth straight loss will see them slip into equal fifth place with Beaconsfield.
