By DAVID NAGEL
PAKENHAM’s opponent at Toomuc Reserve this week, Cranbourne, has continued to defy logic -absorbing the classiest injury list in the South East Football League to run out 22-point winners over reigning-premier Beaconsfield at Casey Fields on Saturday.
Coach Simon Goosey still has several guns to bring back into his side, with Ryan Jones, Glenn Osborne, Michael Boland, Stu Morrish and Curtis Barker all sitting on the sidelines on the weekend.
But Goosey has his side fit, and with a “one soldier out, one soldier in” philosophy in place, has his side playing with a real evenness across the field.
“That’s something we want to pride ourselves on, to run games out and have an even contribution,” Goosey said.
“It was a hard pre-season and we trained like we want to play … to gut run. We also use a lot of rotations and that’s all designed to run the game out. I’d be kidding myself to think the players could play 100 percent of the time the way we play the game.”
This was an arm-wrestle until Cranny exploded away with six goals, in just 20 minutes of footy, in the third term. Goals to Ryan Davey, Marty Leinmueller, Luke Bee-Hugo, two to Marc Holt, and then an absolute belter on the run from Anthony Vella gave the home side the break it needed.
Bee-Hugo, with three goals, and Max Gearon, were brilliant through the midfield for Cranny, while Holt finished the day with three.
Berwick has overcome an emotional week for the club, giving ROC a 61-point football lesson at Starling Road.
The passing of Ethan Devine, the 15-year-old son of Berwick assistant-coach Todd, last Tuesday, saw a minute’s silence held in his memory prior to the match.
Berwick bounced out of the blocks, with livewire forward Mitch Johnson kicking four first-quarter goals as the Wickers answered any doubts about their ability to bounce back after last week’s huge win over Narre Warren.
Johnson was magnificent for the Wickers, crafting an eight-goal haul that was only dulled by a late injury scare.
Nathan Brewster, Matt Rogers and Ben Tivendale were best for the Kangaroos.
Narre Warren warmed up for this week’s heavyweight showdown against reigning-premier Beaconsfield with an 81-point stroll in the park against Tooradin at Fox Road.
The Magpies, coming off back-to-back losses, simply did what they had to do, depriving the Seagulls of hope with a dominant defensive effort in the first half, and then converting their chances after half time.
Kerem Baskaya booted seven for the Magpies, while midfielder Matt Lee continued his stellar start to the season and left footers Ben Giobbi and Dale Gawley also had impressive outings. Kyle Van Der Pluym, Adam Splatt and Adam Galea were best for the Seagulls.
Doveton has two weeks off to ready itself for its biggest challenge of the season after an uninspiring 31-point victory over Hampton Park at Robinson Oval.
The bye, then the interleague break, is the precursor to a tough run for Shannon Henwood and his side who face Pakenham, Narre Warren, Berwick and Cranbourne.
The Doves were slow to begin on the weekend, with Hampton Park showing a greater appetite for the contest and keeping the home side goalless in the first term. The Doves wasted opportunities, kicking 3.7 to 1.1 in the second quarter before controlling the contest after half time. Mitch Pierce kicks three for the Doves, who had Mitch Viney and Russell Gabriel continue their great form. Bryce Keyser was best for the Redbacks.
