BARWON SC Red is the new GRFC Men’s Division One competition leader, despite only managing a 1-1 draw against 5^th placed Deakin Ducks in the penultimate round of the regular season last weekend.

Thanks to an Ian Nichols goal, the Reds were able to nullify Troy Harrison’s effort for Deakin and thus leapfrog the previous table toppers, Geelong Rangers, who had the enforced Bye on the weekend.

In the Division One match of the round, 4^th placed Surfside Waves faced cross town rivals Drysdale at Shell Road Reserve last Friday night, with the home side wearing pink socks in support of the Breast Cancer Support round at the Ocean Grove club.

Both teams were looking to secure a spot in the finals. Nevertheless, the Waves started slowly and were clearly sluggish from the two week break, struggling to match an energetic and committed Drysdale side.

The deadlock was broken by the away side with a fine strike from Danny Graham after a defensive mistake from the Waves. The Hawks doubled their lead early in the second half through Andrew Scott after capitalising on some poor decision making by the Surfside players.

Jack Pedler pulled one back for the Waves, but Drysdale secured the three points with a late goal to the Division One Golden Boot, Louis Stockman, to see the game finish 3-1 in its favour.

In the battle of the cellar dwellers at the White Eagle Club on Sunday, the Breakwater Eagles accounted for bottom side Corio 4-3 in a thriller. Singles to Brandon Duthie, Niall Geoghegan, Keegan Maguire and Jack Plunkett was enough to secure the Eagles all three points.

With just the last round to go, Barwon and Rangers sit pretty in joint top spot with 29 points - although Barwon has a +5 better goal difference than the Bell Post Hill side. Drysdale SC is currently in third spot with 28 points and Surfside, in 4^th spot on 27 points, has secured fourth spot on the ladder as Deakin, with 23 points, cannot overtake the Waves.

DIVISION TWO:

WITH just one round to go, a two team battle for the minor premiership has developed with just two points separating leaders Surf Coast and the second placed Barwon Heads.

The Coasters easily disposed of Barwon SC Blue 4-1 at Banyul Warri Reserve last Friday night, with veteran Marcus Jablonski bagging a double and Brenton Howe and Scott James scoring a goal apiece.

Barwon Heads also had an easy victory in its game, coming away 3-0 winners against Breakwater Eagles at the Barwon Heads Village Park on Sunday. Robert Armstrong hit the back of the net on two occasions, while Dean Findlay netted the third for the Hammerheads.

Bellarine Sharks kept its finals hopes alive with a resounding 5-1 thrashing of Drysdale SC at Lake Reserve in St Leonards on Sunday. Doubles to Daniel De Cola and Anthony Tavic and a single to Daniel Cucinotta was enough to provide a three point buffer between the 4^th placed Sharks and the 5^th placed Deakin Ducks.

DIVISION THREE:

COMPETITION leaders Corio Bay SC Blue suffered a shock 1-4 defeat at the hands of 4^th placed Surfside Waves White at Howard Glover Reserve on Sunday.

Apart from allowing the Waves to secure the last Finals’ spot with just one round remaining, Corio Bay’s loss has allowed second placed Geelong SC to claw its way to within a solitary point of the ladder leaders.

A strengthened Geelong SC outfit did it tough against 10^th placed Corio Bay SC Gold in the second game of the Howard Glover double header on Sunday, before finally running out 2-0 winners to ensure a grandstand culmination to the regular season next week.

PHOTO: Barwon (in the blue and white stripes) has overtaken Rangers at the top of the Division One ladder (Photo: Karen van der Chys)