It’s always good to be an Animal but on the weekend, it was slightly less true after three of four teams suffered losses.

The 9:20am gang were the first to fall as the Women took it to reigning premiers UHS-VU before ultimately suffering a seven-point loss at home, while the Thirds, away from Bennettswood Reserve, were beaten by Mazenod to the tune of 93 points. The misfiring Reserves went down by 44 points to a well-drilled Whitefriars side and the Seniors played out an all-time draw in front of a healthy crowd. 

A win wasn’t to be for the Reserves, who only managed two goals for the game, both off the foot of 150-gamer and club stalwart Anthony Smith. Defensively, Whitefriars stemmed the Animals at every chance, though their inaccuracy in front of goal wasn’t helpful either. Club president Cam Gardner was best-on, with backman Adam Jopling joining him on the top players list. The Seniors game couldn’t have been better scripted by the footy gods, as two loud supporting crowds on the pavilion were left silenced when the final siren sounded and there was no winner. The away side will be left to rue missed opportunities in the final term as plenty of chances went begging in front of goal. Backman Sean Drummond was deemed best-on, while first-year Animal James Marshall snagged two goals to keep his side in it.  

A six-goal second half did a little bit to pare the margin back for the Thirds, whose efforts can’t be denied against an arguably stacked opposition side. Goals from the Marmalade contingent saw Jarra Davis, Will Taylor and Connor Rogers get on the scoreboard, while Thirds constant and backman Nick Rodway was best-on. Despite the rather large final margin, there are positive signs the Animals will no doubt continue to build upon, including finding a way to score even when the chips are down. 

The defensive efforts of the Wattle Park Women through 80 minutes of gametime on Saturday were fantastic as they limited the reigning premiers to just one goal in the first quarter, and eventually the game. With much of the football happening in between the arcs, there were limited opportunities for either side to score. Despite not scoring a goal themselves, the Animals conducted passages of play which saw the ball reach the forward half of the ground numerous times, and utilised a team-wide defensive push in the back fifty for the last quarter to quell their opposition until the siren. These continued efforts will see the reward on the scoreboard come. Ashton Billing was back to her usual best and took best-on-ground honours. 

Round five is upon us and as usual, Pink Day awaits. All four teams will run out in the pink jerseys as the club looks to raise money for the National Breast Cancer Foundation. With regrading made official, the Women will stay in Division 3, facing their already-fixtured opponents Parkside at 4:45pm, while the Thirds get the traditional 9:20am timeslot against Ormond. As normal, the Reserves and Seniors will run out at 11:40am and 2pm, welcoming Hawthorn to Bennettswood Reserve. 

FINAL SCORES - ROUND FOUR

Mazenod v Thirds: 21.19.145 - 7.10.52

Reserves v Whitefriars: 2.9.21 - 9.11.65

Women v UHS-VU: 0.3.3 - 1.4.10

Seniors v Whitefriars: 8.10.58 - 7.16.58