Saturday was a bad day to be a Falcon as Emmaus St Leo’s reserves and seniors teams downed two Albert Park sides by 100+ points. Elsewhere at Elsternwick Park, the Animals Thirds went down to a winless Elsternwick by 74 points.
Melbourne provided an intensely cold morning for football as the weather held off at Elsternwick Park until the siren officially sounded to begin the game like it had been waiting for it. It unleashed rain and hail for the better part of the first quarter before finally easing up at the game went on.
Alex Lavery was named best-on for the losing side, joined by Nick Rodway who’d been strong in defence all day, with Lachlan Hicks’ and Jaxson Penny’s efforts in the midfield making them part of the Animals’ best-six. Ben Kearns was out of the game early in the second quarter, after copping one high as he led up to take a mark, which gave the match a little heat going forward.
Playing-coach Jonathan Greensides provided the only real ray of sunshine on an otherwise dreary day for the Thirds, receiving a handball off Sean Nathan, ruthlessly selling candy to an Elsternwick defender and slotting the Animals’ only goal of the game. To be fair, the 1.8.14 final scorecard failed to accurately portray the effort the men put in, especially in the third quarter when their pressure amped up. The weather wreaked havoc on Elsternwick’s scoring opportunities, as they finished 11.22.88 after some unfortunate set shots.
Overall, the Thirds will take some confidence from their leading up forward and their midfield work into their next game against the Old Camberwell Grammarians at home.
At Bennettswood Reserve, the reserves held steady in the first quarter to take a small lead into the second, then kicking five goals to Albert Park’s zero scoring shots. At the main break, the 49-point differential seemed arguably unassailable if you were to go by the form on display. The pressure let up slightly in the third term as both teams kicked only two goals each to see the home side up by 47 to begin the final quarter.
With the final nail in the coffin having been hammered in at half time, all caution was thrown to the wind in the last quarter as nine goals were kicked by the Animals, to the Falcons’ one. Getting in on the goal kicking party was reserves fullback James Rippon, as well as fellow defenders Cam Price and Tom Wales, with Wales rueing a missed opportunity early in the fourth before getting another crack at it, much to the delight of those watching from the pavilion.
Unstoppable goal kicking forces Anthony Smith and Dan Quattro both contributed five each to what was eventually nineteen goals kicked overall at the final siren, with Adam Bullivant’s midfield work resulting in two majors of his own. Price was named best-on but it was a whole team effort that allowed such dominance for all four quarters.
Whatever the Emmaus St Leo’s reserves can do, the Emmaus St Leo’s seniors can do better is surely one of the takeaways from the latter’s game against a winless Albert Park team who didn’t score after quarter time. While the reserves ran away 103-point winners, it was the seniors who beat the Falcons senseless by 153 points at Bennettswood Reserve. And it was misery for the away side from the very beginning as the Animals piled on 4.5 to 1.1 in the first term before kicking five goals in the second to take a 55-point lead into the half time break.
What followed might need a viewers discretion warning for anyone in the Albert Park camp as those in the blue and blue kicked fourteen goals, evenly spread over the two quarters, with all the play in the Animals’ forward half as they eventually ran out comprehensive winners.
It was goals galore for what could have probably been the Emmaus St Leo’s entire team had the siren failed to sound, as both Isaac Waite and Jacob Glare kicked their very first Animals seniors goals, with the rest of the team mobbing them to celebrate. Dan Hill kept up his incredible form in front of big sticks, booting a casual six majors to back up his four-goal performance from last week, while captain Harry Davis, Emerson Lemkau, backman-turned-ruck Tom Clarke, Nathan Bird, and Hugh Schaeche all contributed two goals each to what was eventually twenty-three goals out of forty-six scoring shots.
But what really got the crowd going at Bennettswood Reserve was seasoned fullback Sam Argus finding himself in the forward line and kicking two goals to add to the ever-growing list of insults to injury Albert Park had been subjected to all day. Argus’s first was from a set shot after a lead in the attacking 50 that even his teammates in the forward line would be proud of, while his second was a running snap kick after winning the ball from a contest. If there was anything that could have summed up the Animals’ performances at home on Saturday, it was that.
This weekend, the men travel to Canterbury Sportsground to face two Canterbury sides looking to keep their top four hopes alive this early on in the season. The Animals themselves will be taking the confidence and form gained in round six into round seven as the reserves look to take top spot on the ladder if they win by a hefty margin, while the seniors aim to stay tight with the two teams above them.