By DAVID NAGEL
JUST like the newly formed South East Football League, Pakenham sprung to life on Saturday with an 86-point victory over Hampton Park at Toomuc Reserve.
The Lions free-flowing run and quick ball movement proved too much for the Redbacks, who took a massive step backwards after their impressive season opener against Doveton.
Pakenham coach Steve O’Bryan was impressed with his team’s performance, a lot more impressed than he is with people who have written his side off as a genuine finals’ contender.
“I don’t understand it, I think we’ve got the best team on the park since I’ve been here (three years) but we sort of feel like people have written us off already and we don’t know why,” he said.
“I didn’t have many complaints from the weekend, I thought all the boys played pretty well, but we’ve still got a few things to work on. We moved the footy the way we wanted to and I thought we played pretty good footy.”
Jake Smith finished with five for the Lions, and Jason Fisher three, while skipper Dean Blake was back to his brilliant best through the midfield.
Narre Warren, still with its teeth clenched and its head shaking after last year’s straight sets finals elimination, showed it would still be a dominant force with a 70-point dissection of Cranbourne at Casey Fields.
After a tight opening, the Magpies piled on five goals in just nine minutes at the end of the first quarter to basically end the game as a contest. Ben Wragg, with five goals, and Matt Lee with three were pivotal up forward for the Maggies while Ben Giobbi, Jackson Parker and Matt Soroczynski provided some real pace out of defence.
The question mark hanging over Beaconsfield and its ability to back up after last year’s first premiership win in 10 years was answered at Holm Park Reserve on Saturday.
The Eagles answered emphatically too, with a gutsy, resilient, and typically team-orientated 11-point victory over arch-rival Berwick in the Battle of the Creek.
No more than eight points separated the two sides at the first three breaks, the Eagles holding on courtesy of four goals to Taylor Joyce and brilliant midfield displays from Jesse Linkins, Daniel Mislicki and Damien Johnston.
Doveton survived the first real heart-stopper in the SEFL with a one-point victory over Tooradin at Robinson Oval.
The Doves trailed by 25 points at the main break but fought back, with five goals to Ricky Hayes and a brilliant marking display from Jarrad Boumann across half-back the key planks of victory.
“Over the last couple of years, we would have lost that game, but I think we all lifted and showed some real character and that’s got to be good for our confidence and belief going forward,” Doves coach Shannon Henwood said.
The highlight of this week’s round of matches will be the appearance of former St Kilda star Stephen Milne, who will line-up for Hampton Park against Beaconsfield at Robert Booth Reserve.
