By Jonty Ralphsmith
Beaconsfield outlasted bottom-placed Norwood at Mullum Mullum Reserve on Saturday winning 13.18(96) to 5.7(37) in the Eastern Football Netball League Division 1 clash.
The Eagles led by just 11 points at the last change as the hosts, still seeking their first win of the season, stuck fat and smelled an upset.
But the Eagles’ star-power ultimately shone through with the match on the line, as the AFL experience of Jake Aarts and VFL experience of Damien Johnston and Josh Mounter helped the Eagles stretch the final margin to 59 points.
It was a Beaconsfield monopoly after three-quarter-time, with the Eagles scoring six goals in 14 minutes.
Brandon White started the run, taking a mark inside 50 to capitalise on the first centre clearance, extending the margin to 17 within the first minute of the quarter.
That play was symbolic of what was to come for the visitors, with the midfielders getting first hands on it at centre stoppage and putting it on a platter for the forwards who took marks inside 50 with ease.
Starting ruck Travis Stewart led that aerial dominance forward of the footy, kicking both of his two set shot goals in the last quarter.
Beaconsfield kicked six goals in the first 14 minutes of the quarter to stave off the Norwood threat.
It was a breakthrough senior game for the athletic Marley Appleyard, who kicked four goals, helping Beaconsfield hit the scoreboard during the first three quarters when goals were hard to come by.
Playing his first season of senior footy, Appleyard had kicked just one goal in five games prior to Saturday’s confidence-booster.
It continues a perfect month of May for Beaconsfield, after wins over Boronia, Montrose and Mooroolbark, to ensconce themselves in the top three of the competition.
Boronia’s loss to Park Orchards on Saturday has opened up a two game plus percentage buffer between themselves and the teams fighting for the top five.
They will be favoured to get their sixth win of the season this Saturday against the 1-5 Bayswater, before a litmus test against Park Orchards will give a true reflection of where they sit at the halfway point of the season.
The Eagles only loss so far in 2025 has been to the undefeated South Belgrave.
EASTERN DIVISION 1
NORWOOD 1.4 3.5 4.6 5.7(37)
BEACONSFIELD 2.3 4.9 5.11 13.18(96)
Norwood Goals: Jos Landy 2, Tom Coghlan, Ben Linkin, Kieren West. Best Jos Landy, Jackson Winter, Lincoln Wright, Hayden Kemp, Jarrod West, Jeremy Clark.
Beaconsfield Goals: Marley Appleyard 4, Jake Bowd 3, Travis Stewart 2, Brandon White 2, Myles Currie, Ali Zijai. Best: Joshua Mounter, Marley Appleyard, Devon Smith, Travis Stewart, Damien Johnston, Jake Aarts.
Results R7: Mooroolbark 7.6(48) def by Montrose 12.9(81), Boronia 6.9(45) def by Park Orchards 8.14(62), Bayswater 5.3(33) def by South Belgrave 16.16(112).
Ladder: South Belgrave 24, Park Orchards 24, Beaconsfield 20, Montrose 12, Boronia 12, Mooroolbark 8, North Ringwood 8, Bayswater 4, Norwood 0
Fixture R8: Beaconsfield (3) v Bayswater (8), South Belgrave (1) v Mooroolbark (6), Montrose (4) v North Ringwood (7), Boronia (5) v Norwood (9). Bye: Park Orchards (2).
