Football
Pakenham (7th 2-8) v Officer (6th 4-6)
Last time: Round 3 Officer 12.12.84 def Pakenham 11.12.78
Leading Goalkicker – Pakenham Ben Fraser 17 Goals – Officer – Matty Clarke 23 Goals
Form : Pakenham – LLLLW – Officer WLLLB
Pre-season predictions had these sides at different ends of the ladder spectrum. At the halfway point of the season it couldn’t be completely different. Officer are playing confident football and appear to have improved as a club, while their highway rivals appear to be on a decline. The Kangaroos continue to keep their finals chances alive and a win here could see them sitting only 1 game out of the 5 while The Lions should start planning for Season 2017. In their Round 3 encounter, Pakenham got the jump kicking 6 goals to 3 in the first quarter before being outscored 9 goals to 5 in the remaining match. Matty Clarke enjoyed a season high 6 goals while the ever reliable Ben Tivendale kicked 3 goals in a best on ground performance. Pakenham have shown glimpses of football that could test Officer at home but the Kangaroos should be able to outwork them and grind out a gutsy win.
Pakenham need to – Play for a full 120 minutes, they got the jump on the Kangaroos in their first contest but were worked over after the first quarter. They have shown glimpses of great football but inconsistency has become costly. Pakenham can’t play finals but they won’t want to lose again to their cross highway rivals.
Officer need to – Come to play and put pressure around the footy. Officer should be still striving to play finals; they had a disappointing loss against Tooradin when they were expected to win. Matty Clarke and Ilan Osman have provided an avenue to goal; the midfielders need to get the ball into their hands. Officer can sometimes shoot themselves in the foot in front of goal; if they can convert they should win.
Prediction – Officer 11 point win.
Narre Warren (2nd 8-2) v Beaconsfield (4th 6-3)
Last time: Round 3 Beaconsfield 7.6.48 lost to Narre Warren 14.11.95
Leading Goalkicker – Darren Sheen 44 Goals – Beaconsfield Beau Dowler 32 Goals
Form: Narre – WWWWL – Beacy BWLWW
Fierce rivals Narre and Beaconsfield challenge each other for the second time this season, with the Magpies too classy winning by 47 points over the ANZAC Day weekend. It’s difficult to assess exactly where Beaconsfield sit, they’re 4th on the ladder but still haven’t been able to defeat any side sitting above them on the ladder. Narre Warren couldn’t be happier mauling their opponents during their 4 game winning streak and now have scored the most points in the competition. Narre is averaging close to 30 scoring shots a game (29.2) and with better accuracy they could be looking at an even higher percentage (currently 187.93%) the Magpies deserve to be included in premiership calculations. We could see another shootout with Narre spearhead Darren Sheen on 44 goals while Beaconsfield’s own Beau Dowler sits 3rd on the goal kicking tally with 32 goals. Narre will have too much firepower and win easily.
Narre need to – Continue to play confident footy. Narre couldn’t have been more impressive over the past month and will look to put a finals contender to the sword. Quick ball movement off the half-back line setting up the forward movement has created plenty of scoring opportunities. They will be looking to have 30 shots on goal and setup their win.
Beacy need to – Be physical at the contest, and make it a one-on-one battle all over the ground. They will need Meyer to fire and provide first use of the footy to their smaller brigade. Beaconsfield has a strong defence and they will need to shut down the dangerous Narre forward line. Beacy have the ingredients to get the win if they play committed football for 120 minutes.
Prediction – Narre by 36 points.
Berwick (1st 8-1) v Tooradin (8th 2-8)
Last time: Round 6 Tooradin 8.9.57 lost to Berwick 11.15.81
Leading Goalkicker – Bean Kearns 26 Goals – Tooradin Patrick Chin 18 Goals
Form: Ber LBWWW – Tooradin - LWBLL
Tooradin put in one of their best performances of the season going down to Berwick by 24 points back in Round 6. That result has sparked the Gulls into some improved performances a solid win against Officer followed by a gallant performance against Narre last week at home. Berwick are always a tough assignment, made tougher by the fact that Berwick are bouncing off their first loss for the season at the hands of Cranbourne. Former Wicker Nathan Page’s return to Tooradin has seen a dramatic improvement on the scoreboard. Page has kicked 8 goals in the past 2 weeks alongside improved performances by on field leader Josh Muling, the Seagulls appear to have turned the corner. One loss shouldn’t ring too many alarm bells at Edwin Flack, depending how the reigning premier’s handle the loss, it could be the lesson they need to refocus and prepare for finals in 7 weeks’ time.
Berwick need to – Regroup and focus on the remaining games for the season. In second gear they would still win this game comfortably but after a stinging loss last week at the hands of Cranbourne; all eyes will be on Berwick. Their backline which has been stringent all season were exposed last week and will be looking to strangle the Seagulls forwards. The conditions made it difficult for Berwick last time but they will be working hard at home to keep the scoreboard pressure on their opposition.
Tooradin need to – Continue to work well as a group. Since the Berwick game, the Gulls have improved their on-field performances. Nathan Page returning from injury has added some spice to the forward make-up while Andrew Dean is still on the sidelines. Tooradin can take confidence into this match as they tested Berwick in their last encounter, but they need to be switched on early as the Wickers will be breathing fire and brimstone
Prediction - Berwick by 51 points.
Cranbourne (3rd 8-2) v Doveton (5th 6-4)
Last time: Round 7 Doveton 5.8.38 lost to Cranbourne 12.12.84
Leading Goalkicker – Cranbourne Marc Holt 51 Goals – Doveton Mitch Pierce 11 Goals
Form: Cran: WWWBW – Dove: WLWLB
The celebrations will be kicking off early at Casey Fields as Cranbourne FC celebrate 30 years since winning the 1986 premiership against Doveton. Its only 6 weeks since these 2 combatants went to war under lights for the Indigenous Round; even the introduction of Brendan Fevola wasn’t enough to stop the rampant Eagles on that night. Cranbourne faced some tough home truths, which appears to be the catalyst of a mid-season revival including the scalp of the previously undefeated reigning premiers last week. It’s hard to identify where Doveton could have closed the gap over the past 6 weeks if anything you could say Cranbourne have increased the gap leaving the premiership open to only 3 teams. A fit Marc Holt against an injury depleted defence from Doveton will open the door of opportunity for ‘The Train’ to kick another big bag in Cranbourne’s 9th win for the season.
Cranbourne need to – Continue playing team orientated football they have been producing over the past month. Cranbourne have been nothing short then scintillating and if they come to play they should handle their opposition pretty easily as reflected only 5 weeks ago. Cranbourne’s link players such as Ryan Jones and Shaun Sparks will need to find space; Zac Roscoe has been very impressive getting up the ground
Doveton need to – Find an avenue to goal to apply scoreboard pressure against their rivals. Doveton have shown they can compete against the best but injuries have really affected the continuity. Doveton have class in the midfield and will need to hold onto the footy to keep it out of the Eagles triumphant midfield hands. Doveton will need to convert in front of goal to build the momentum to challenge Cranbourne at home.
Predciction - Cranbourne by 37 points.
Netball
SEFNL Representative Netball FULL TIME REPORT
The second half of the SEFNL representative netball began at Knox for the Mountain District Netball Association Tournament on May 1st. Our ever familiar tent home was set up at the break of dawn in preparation for what was to come. It was an interesting day for all teams. The 13s lost a player to illness after the first match of the day, and 17s were losing players by the hour with illness, injury and other things. Yet, in the torrential rain, all the teams persisted through the day and fought to the end.
In late April, the girls were privileged to head to the South Yarra Netball Courts to promote the Association Championships during the Channel 10 weather cross together with Vixens Geva Mentor and Madi Robinson.
Under 15s and Under 17s headed back to Knox on Sunday 29th of May for the Association Championships. It was a great opportunity to compete against some great teams of netballers and have the opportunity to be identified for talent and the chance to be invited to Zone Academy. Both teams experienced a mix of wins and losses and unfortunately missed out on finals on the day. The Under 13s headed to Doncaster the following week for their opportunity to compete in the Championships. After a great start to the day with a couple of losses by 1 goal and some wins, as the day went, the competition proved too hard to beat.
So in the inaugural year of SEFNL representative netball there is much to celebrate. In the first year, everyone represented the League with pride and whispers could be heard, asking who this SEFNL team was.
The players worked hard to improve their skill and confidence and over the course of the tournaments experienced the outcome of this. Importantly, the girls enjoyed the chance to form new friendships and play with girls who they may have only meet on the court as opposition players.
Firstly our sincere thanks goes to the SEFNL Board who allowed this important development opportunity to take place. Importantly, a huge thank you is extended to Sharlene Nation. There was not one hiccup, despite the steep learning curve of organising try-outs, purchasing new uniforms, trainings and finally playing at tournaments from an administrative perspective. There were many, many hours outside of her role in making sure that every player had the best opportunity possible.
Finally, this season was possible because of the support of the three wonderful people who willingly volunteered their time in our first year to train the netballers and travel to tournaments to coach. They gave up many Sundays to coach which is no easy task with the other commitments they all had. Thank you to Donna Wilson U/17, Katrina Foster U/15 and Lauren Bourke U/13. Coaches, your commitment and patience was appreciated.
A review of the program is currently taking place with feedback being sought from the players, parents and coaches. This feedback is being used to assist in determining the future direction and growth of the program, so stayed tuned and keep an eye out for try-out dates for our 2017 SEFNL Netball Rep teams.
Last Modified on 08/07/2016 11:56