Keysborough has jumped into fifth position on the Southern Division 2 ladder after it knocked off Doveton by 20 points on the weekend away from home.
The Burra have won four of their last five games and coach Chris Smith said the young side is gelling together well.
The team came into the season with a simple goal, “to not be relegated,” and starting the season with a 4-3 record is a great foundation to achieve this goal.
Keysborough got the jump on the Doves in the first quarter and controlled the play, scoring three goals to take a 13-point lead into the first break.
The second term was a bit of an arm-wrestle as both sides battled to get the upper hand around the contest, before the Burra took control in the premiership quarter.
Led by Simon Marchese and Ethan Bakes in the forward line, the visitors kicked 4.6 but some inaccurate kicking left the door ajar for the Doves to fly home, and they did just that.
However, despite Doveton’s surge in the final quarter, Keysborough held its nerve to win its fourth game of the season, holding on by 20 points.
“We’ve been over the moon really, it’s hard being in such an even competition and you’ve got to make sure the boys understand that if you drop a game, things can dramatically turn,” Smith said.
“We have only beaten Doveton three times in our history and they are one of those clubs that bring their best for us, there is a bit of a rivalry there.”
Smith said he could see the club was travelling in the right direction to achieve success in coming years.
“To win four of the past five, I don’t think Keysborough has done that in a long time,” he said.
“I have been here for seven years and in the early days that I coached, we had a really good side, then we have rebuilt and we feel like it’s starting to turn now and we are dangerous to other teams again.”
Smith said that while the four points was the same reward as every other week, the path to victory looked different in the round seven clash.
“To be two rotations down at quarter time, to be playing at Doveton, to have your two best players not at their best, and to still come away with a win shows a lot,” he said.
“I feel like we have come a long way with the maturity of our club, our defensive work has been so much better and it’s harder to score against us.”
After coughing up a 22-point lead at half time against Frankston Dolphins back in round two, Smith drew a line in the sand.
“After that game, we really wound back the clock and we punished the boys, we made them do heaps of running and contested stuff,” he said.
“I gave them a bit of an old fashioned spray at training on the Tuesday night about training standards and stuff like that … and from there, things have turned.”
Young gun Marchese stood up in the victory with three goals, while Bakes, Samuel Ellis and James Ellis were all influential.
For the Doves, William Kerr and Jake Ingaliso were as reliable as ever, giving their team every chance to win.
In other games, Hampton Park kept its spot on top of the ladder as the Redbacks continued their dominance to defeat Frankston Dolphins by 60 points in a statement victory.
The Redbacks, led by Liam Scott (six goals) and Nathan Langley (five goals), kicked 52-0 in the third term to set up the comfortable win.
Highett bounced back from its uncharacteristic loss against Caulfield Bears, with a 41-point win against Endeavour Hills – Ben Kenny kicked five goals for Highett in the victory.
East Malvern was well and truly outscored in the second half against Mordialloc, but they had already done enough and secured the win by 30 points.
A strong second quarter set the Panthers up for victory, as star forward Isaac Morrisby kicked four goals.
Chelsea Heights is in the top four after an important hard-fought win against Caulfield Bears who came into the clash with lots of confidence.
Jesse Murphy led the way for the Demons with five goals and was named the team’s best player.
SOUTHERN DIVISION 2
DOVETON 1.1 3.4 4.7 7.10(52)
KEYSBOROUGH 3.2 5.3 9.9 10.12(72)
Doveton Goals: Jake Calvert, William Kerr 2, Ryan Hall, Matthew Rogers, Cameron Williamson.Best: William Kerr, Jake Ingaliso, Sam Ellis, Hayden Waters, Ryan Hall, Matt Stapleton.
Keysborough Goals: Ethan Bakes, Simon Marchese 3, Luke Damato, Brad Doyle, Dylan McKenzie, Kyden Vella. Best: Samuel Ellis, Ethan Bakes, James Ellis, Brad Doyle, Dylan McKenzie, Matthew Collett.
HAMPTON PARK 1.6 7.8 15.12 16.14(110)
FRANKSTON DOLPHINS 3.1 4.5 4.5 6.14(50)
Hampton Park Goals: Liam Scott 6, Nathan Langley 5, Trent Thomas 2, Declan Brunell, Luke Bull, Jayden Weichard. Best: Liam Scott, Makaio Haywood, Jayden Weichard, Nathan Langley, Mason Hawkins, Trent Thomas.
Frankston Dolphins Goals: Tom Limpens, Jack Rickinson 2, Ash Cadd, Nick Christoforou. Best: Tom Limpens, Kain Stratton, James Porter, Bailey Smith, Jack Rickinson.
ENDEAVOUR HILLS 3.2 3.5 7.8 8.8(56)
HIGHETT 1.5 2.10 6.12 14.13(97)
Endeavour Hills Goals: Luca Agresta, Baron Grant 2, Mitchell Grant, Liam Hasler, Ethan Landman, Sam McLean. Best: Luke Peters, Mitchell Grant, Baron Grant, Ben Swift, Shaun Richards, Benjamin Holland.
Highett Goals: Ben Kenny 5, Jacob Apted 2, Thomas Carroll, Brent Dyall, Luca Guida, Mitch Hoar, Yael Hoorman, Sam Jackson, Aidan Young. Best: Sam Jackson, Dayton Woodham, Joshua O’Neill, Ben Kenny, Jackson O’Meara, Brent Dyall.
OTHER GAMES – Rd 7: Chelsea Heights 12.6(78) def Caulfield Bears 8.7(55), East Malvern 10.14(74) def Mordialloc 6.8(44).
LADDER: Hampton Park, East Malvern 20, Highett, Chelsea Heights, Keysborough 16, Frankston Dolphins, Caulfield Bears, Mordialloc 12, Endeavour Hills, Doveton Doves 8.
FIXTURE – Rd 8: East Malvern (2) v Caulfield Bears (7), Frankston Dolphins (6) v Endeavour Hills (9), Chelsea Heights (4) v Hampton Park (1), Highett (3) v Doveton (10), Keysborough (5) v Mordialloc (8).
