Pearcedale has won seven-consecutive games after defeating third-placed Chelsea by 13 points in a thrilling encounter on Saturday.
The Dales have dropped just one match for the season in the Mornington Peninsula Division 2 competition, but their 11th win of the year didn’t come without a fight.
The first challenge came before the first bounce with sharpshooter Cruiz West ruled out for Pearcedale with Cooper Thornton coming in to take his place.
Like the formidable Dales have done so often this season, they started from the first bounce as the midfield, led by ex-AFL talent Ryan Bastinac, went to work.
A seven-goal-to-zero first quarter followed as Pearcedale dominated proceedings to take a huge 43-point lead into quarter time.
Coach Peter Bastinac was impressed with the way his side started, putting the Seagulls on the back foot from the first bounce.
“We had a really good start to the game, kicking seven goals to nil and we were certainly on,” he said.
“We won the clearances; we got some good entries and kicked straight which was good.
“It was disappointing that we let them back in but very exciting that we held on.”
The Dales got the first goal of the second quarter to take the lead out to a game-high 49 points, before the home side kicked six unanswered goals to reduce the margin to 12.
“There were a couple of things that didn’t go our way and we dropped our intensity a bit,” Bastinac said.
The second half was an arm-wrestle, with plenty of momentum shifts as Pearcedale narrowly outscored the Seagulls 41-40 to win 14.10(94) to 12.9(81).
Chelsea is a quality side and Pearcedale knew how important the game would be, given the Seagulls are just one spot behind the Dales on the ladder.
“They are a good team and third on the ladder for a reason, they were always going to challenge us,” Bastinac said.
Huw Jones was a beast in the ruck for the visitors and played a huge role in the final result, with 14 disposals, 51 hitouts and 112 ranking points.
Chelsea did plenty of homework in a bid to nullify the league’s leading goalkicker Brett Eddy (48 goals), restricting him to two majors.
The Seagulls would’ve also done a bit of research on West, but they hadn’t seen his replacement in Thornton, who kicked three goals in the opening quarter.
“He started the year with us and then copped a couple of injuries … because he missed some footy, we brought him back through the development and he is starting to hit form,” Bastinac said.
Other strong performers for Pearcedale included Kaolan Thornton (28 disposals, seven tackles), Jordan Bastinac (24 disposals, one goal) and David Hussey (nine tackles, two goals).
Brett O’Hanlon was a standout for the Seagulls with five goals from his six kicks – a maximum impact sort of performance.
In other games across the MPFNL, Devon Meadows had a huge 145-point victory over winless Karingal, responding from last week’s shock loss to Hastings.
The Panthers harnessed all their frustration, anger and embarrassment from last week to come out and put on a clinic in the first quarter, booting 10 goals to one.
Joel Hillis was best on ground with five goals, while the likes of Jack Wilson (six goals) and Thomas Morley (five goals) also cashed in.
Oscar Hanson (three goals) kicked half of his team’s score in the heavy defeat.
Crib Point is in the top four after a 23-point win over Seaford, with Joey Wilson booting four goals to see the Magpies home.
Scores were level at half time but the home side ran away in the second half to win, despite a big day out from Tigers’ forward Riley Harper who kicked five goals.
Bonbeach bounced back from a poor loss last week to defeat Rye by 29 points, as it searches for a spot in the finals come the end of the year.
Frankston Bombers remain undefeated after thumping Tyabb by 104 points, as Khan Haretuku (seven goals) and Tyson Barry (five goals) had their kicking boots on.
Somerville pumped Hastings by 117 points with Corey Battams (seven goals) and skipper Mason De Wit (four goals) leading the way.
Eight players kicked two or more goals in the win, while Hastings star Kade Foster kicked three goals and was the Blues’ best.
MORNINGTON PENINSULA DIVISION 2
CHELSEA 0.2 6.5 8.7 12.9(81)
PEARCEDALE 7.3 8.5 10.10 14.10(94)
Chelsea Goals: Brett O’Hanlon 5, Jack Francis 3, John Simson 2, Anthony Beale, Todd Gardiner. Best: Matthew Dussin, Harry Schaffer, Brett O’Hanlon, Todd Gardiner, Jack Wallace.
Pearcedale Goals: Cooper Thornton 3, Luke Daniel, Mitch Davis, Alex Dimic, Brett Eddy, David Hussey 2, Jordan Bastinac. Best: David Hussey, Huw Jones, Ryan Bastinac, Jordan Bastinac, Jack McGuiness.
KARINGAL 1.0 2.0 5.0 6.0(36)
DEVON MEADOWS 10.1 17.4 23.11 28.13(181)
Karingal Goals: Oscar Hanson 3, James Cornell, Trizen Dekarube, Zachery Holton. Best: Callan Dixon, Oscar Hanson, Zachery Holton, Louis Barbour, Baylin McLeod.
Devon Meadows Goals: Jack Wilson 6, Joel Hillis, Thomas Morley 5, Nick Battle 3, Alex Canal, Ryan Koo 2, Daniel Allen, Rory Hillis, Hayden Murphy, Cody Ray, Patrick Sinnema. Best: Joel Hillis, Jack Wilson, Owen Hillis, Nick Battle, Thomas Morley.
Other Results – R12: Bonbeach 14.19(103) def Rye 11.8(74), Crib Point 14.10(94) def Seaford 10.11(71), Somerville 25.26(176) def Hastings 9.5(59), Frankston Bombers 10.16(136) def Tyabb 5.2(32).
Ladder: Frankston Bombers 48, Pearcedale 44, Chelsea, Crib Point 32, Devon Meadows, Bonbeach 28, Somerville 24, Seaford, Rye 16, Hastings 12, Tyabb 8, Karingal 0.
Fixture – R13: Chelsea (3) v Bonbeach (6), Devon Meadows (5) v Somerville (7), Frankston Bombers (1) v Karingal (12), Hastings (10) v Pearcedale (2), Rye (9) v Crib Point (4), Seaford (8) v Tyabb (11).
