Wattle Park might have to petition the VAFA to get all their games played on a Friday night, after a fixture change for the Thirds proved fruitful on the weekend with a 23-point win over Oakleigh under lights and the Saturday squad unable to get four points between them. A heartbreaking one-point loss to De La Salle continues the rivalry for the Women, while South Melbourne Districts ended up with wins against the Reserves and Seniors to round out the Bennettswood Reserve triple header.
An aesthetically pleasing scoreboard and two goals from Matthew Price are two of the silver linings to the Reserves’ 58-point loss to South Melbourne Districts on the weekend. Miskicking in front of goal by the away side kept the margin to just four going into the second quarter, before they put the foot down to take a 23-point buffer into the main break. The Animals kept the scoreboard ticking over just, registering 1.1 in all four quarters of the game. 11 scoring shots to just two in the final term told much of the story for the Animals, who weren’t able to get their foot in the door from the first siren, despite their best efforts. Jack Hernan continues his impeccable form with a best-on-ground performance, while Jacob Mitchell’s foray into the Reserves squad has yielded a goal and club president Cam Gardner rounds out the goalkickers.
A shortened fourth quarter after an unfortunate injury to an opposition player has seen the Seniors go down by 10 points against South Melbourne Districts. With only a few minutes played of the final term, the decision was made to end the game early, with the away side arguably the better team on the day. The Animals found themselves down by 19 points at the first break, before rallying in the second quarter to be in front by four at halftime. The armwrestle continued as the opposition started to get the upper hand, swinging the momentum their way just before three-quarter-time. Sharing the goalkicking load saw the regular contributors on the scoreboard, including one from Sam Barrah in his return to the Senior side and two from Dan Hill, who continues to cement his spot in the team. Backman Sean Drummond topped the best players list.
Six goals from Caden MacDonald to get the Thirds over the line at Scammell Reserve on Friday night has moved the spotlight ever so slightly from former AFL player Dale Thomas making an appearance in the striped blue and blue long-sleeves, although his 24 disposals and 10 clearances are nothing to sniff at either. After a five-goal-to-one first quarter, the Animals let Oakleigh back in during the second, with missed opportunities in front of the big sticks allowing just an eight-point buffer at the main break. The defensive units of both teams stood strong as the ball bounced between the arcs for much of the third term, before Wattle Park decided enough was enough and nailed the coffin shut in the last.
Known for their rather sluggish starts, the Women opened up Saturday’s game like bullets out of a gun, catching De La Salle sleeping and getting out to a 13-point lead at halftime. With chains of play happening all over the ground and staunch defensive efforts from all backline players, there was nowhere to move for the away side. Goals from first-year Animal Rose Kennedy in the first term and one each from regulars Ashton Billing and J Clancy in the second boosted the morale even higher, both on the field and off it. Momentum started to steadily slip midway through the third quarter as the opposition pushed back, with the Animals’ lead cut to just six points at the final break despite a goal from Emily Severin, which steadied the ship just. Paying the price for the fast start, Wattle Park were unable to regain the lead, falling short by just one agonising point after a hard-fought 80 minutes. Severin was deemed best-on-ground for her efforts everywhere.
With the King’s Birthday bye this weekend, all four teams are out of action. The Animals are back on the field next week, the reins of Bennettswood Reserve handed to the Thirds solely, who start at 11:40am. Ted Ajani Reserve is playing host to the Reserves and Seniors as they take the field against Bulleen-Templestowe, with unusual start times of 3:10pm and 5:30pm respectively, while the Women head to W. R. Ruthven Reserve to face Preston, intent on getting 2024’s ledger to 2-0.
FINAL SCORES - ROUND EIGHT
Oakleigh v Thirds: 9.6.60 - 12.11.83
Reserves v South Melbourne Districts: 4.4.28 - 12.14.86
Women v De La Salle: 4.2.26 - 4.3.27
Seniors v South Melbourne Districts: 9.5.59 - 10.9.69