It was a rough day across all three men’s sides, with a trio of defeats souring the start of May.
Unseasonably warm weather replaced Melbourne’s unpredictable dreariness, but the dreary feeling of defeat begun when a spirited thirds team proved to be no match to Whitefriars FC, going down by 117 points.
A 3 goal final term rescued back some respect for the Animals on the scoreboard, but were unable to undo the damage of 7 goals first and third terms by the Friars.
Despite the loss, the Thirds still hold a stranglehold on 6th.
Down the road in Hawthorn, the Reserves would suffer their first loss of their premiership defence, with a listless display seeing the twos trail early and for the game.
Anthony Smith would kick 5 on the small confines of Rathmines Road Reserve, Adam Bullivant would be best on, but it would be a dark day for the defending premiers as a lack of cohesion stifled any comeback attempt. A 38 point loss would see the Animals surrender top spot.
It would be a similar story for the seniors, as the injury bug continued to bite hard.
Injuries to Zac Durrant, Kye Roberts, and Ben Collins would leave the Animals with one fresh player for a half.
Despite straight kicking up to half time, the Hawks would keep the ones at arms length for most of the day, and run out comfortable 34 point winners.
Jack Hunt would continue his good form with the boot slotting 5, but had little help on his crusade for goals.