By: Ben SHEARS

ROUND Five of the GRFC Men’s Division 1 saw Barwon Red jump to the top of the ladder after they continued their undefeated start to the season, while the previous table toppers Deakin Ducks Gold could only manage a draw in their game.

Last Friday night in Torquay, Surf Coast hosted Deakin Gold with the end result a surprising 1-1 draw. David Cattigan scored for Surf Coast to put Surf Coast in the box seat to cause a major upset, before a penalty for Ducks’ captain Troy Harrison in the 50^th minute made the final result 1-1.

In another Friday night game between Surfside Waves and Geelong at ocean Grove’s Shell Road Reserve, the end result showed a dominant 5-0 score for the Waves. Surfside’s Jack Pedler and Alex Romaniw both scored braces while Matthew Kirk closed the game out for the home side with a single.

Also on Friday night, Geelong Rangers defeated Barwon Blue 3-1 in their clash at Grovedale Reserve. The Rangers currently sit 9^th on the ladder while Barwon Blue are struggling, yet to get their first win for the season. The goal scorers for the Rangers include Nicholas Hogan, Scott Davison and Drew Corry, while Craig Cameron-Smith netted the consolation goal for Barwon.

In the final Friday night game of the round, Drysdale defeated Deakin Ducks Black in a 4-2 upset. The game started off evenly, with both teams showing great passing skills. However the game changed when Nick Hopper netted a goal in the first half, giving Drysdale the confidence heading into the next 45 minute phase.

The second half started well for Drysdale with Jordan Gregorio slotting home another goal to extend the lead to 2-0. Beng Kai So scored a goal to provide some hope for Deakin, however Rhys Clapp practically ran the ball into the goal and Nick Hopper got a tap in to seal the game for the visiotrs. With a few minutes to go, Michael Goodhew snuck in an amazing cross from the top right corner of the pitch into the bottom left corner of the goal to end the game on a high for Drysdale.

On Sunday game, Barwon Red took on Barwon Heads, with the close game ending in a 3-2 win for the Barwon, which resulted in the Reds overtaking Deakin Gold at the top of the competition standings. Halil Hussein, Dylan Robertson and Sean Mahon all scored singles for Barwon, while Robert Armstrong and Simon Wrench both scored for Barwon Heads.

In the Deakin Green v Bell Park clash, the score at half time was 2-0 in favor of the Deakin side. Shortly after the resumption of play, two goals were quickly scored by both Deakin and Bell Park to make the score 3-1. But three goals late in the half ended the game as a competition with Deakin running out easy 6-1 winners over the All Whites. The goalscorers for Deakin included Rhyle Panozzo, Emmanuel Oteng, Harry Woolley, Thomas Back, Alexander Kelly and Samuel Harrison all getting singles apiece. Olgun Kurul was the consolation goalscorer for Bell Park.

The final game from the weekend saw Breakwater Eagles take on Elcho Park Cardinals. In a smashing fashion, Breakwater came away from the clash at Elcho Park with a 5-0 victory in tow, having achieved the win whilst not having any subs for the entire game. The individual goalscorers for Breakwater included Jack Wilson, Thomas Mcleod, Marc Desmarais and Matthew Elson, while the final goal for Breakwater was an own goal.