By Ben Pollard
The SMJFL season kicked off on Sunday and everyone involved was greeted with a suitably glorious sunny afternoon. Let’s have a look at some of the talking points from Round 1 action:
-There were some great games in Under 11 West, with Waverley Park Brown winning by three points and Brighton Beach 2 by only one.
-The inaccurate Ajax Stars will be kicking themselves, after scoring 5.13 (43) to draw with Dingley Red on 6.7 (43) in Under 11 Blue.
-East Brighton Vampires White scored a gutsy come-from-behind win in Under 12 South, having trailed Oakleigh by eight points at three-quarter time.
-Plenty of close ones in Under 12 North, with Caulfield, Ajax Jets and East Brighton Vampires all winning by less than four points.
-In Under 13 Division 2, Mason Goldin kicked a bag of seven goals in a big win for Dingley Black...
-... But Alex Mastromanno topped that total, slotting a massive 11 majors for East Brighton Vampires in Under 14 Division 1.
-There was a crackerjack battle in Under 15 Division 1, when Mordialloc Braeside White rallied from a goal down at three-quarter time to take the points against East Malvern Gold.
-In another amazing comeback, this time in Under 15 Division 3, Murrumbeena Maroon kicked 4.10 to 1.0 in the final quarter against Ajax Jets after trailing by 21 points at three-quarter time.
-In Under 16 Division 1, Ormond and Hampton played out a tense final quarter in which no goals were kicked and Ormond held on to win by two points!
-Samuel Kelly was best-on-ground with six goals in South Melbourne District’s big win in Under 16 Division 2.
-There was a mix of everything in Under 17 Premier, with some blowout margins and a couple of very close ones...
-... Jess Broons (Ajax), Sam Lewin (Ormond) and Lucas Kelly (Cheltenham) were all best-on-ground in big wins by their clubs.
-... East Sandringham withstood a late charge by Waverley Park to prevail by seven points. Mathew Giuliano was superb for the losers with six goals.
-... In the other close one, Beaumaris Sharks almost kicked themselves out of the game against Mordialloc Braeside, but their score of 10.15 (75) was still enough to overcome Mordi-Brae’s 12.2 (74). Cue sighs of relief.
We can’t forget the Under 9s and 10s, who by all reports kicked off their seasons in great spirit and produced plenty of entertaining games. Good luck to all teams for this weekend and let’s hope the weather shines on everyone once again!
* Greg Miller Photography covered a number of matches from Round 1. Click on any of the links below to view the corresponding photos or go to www.gregmillerphotography.net.au and click on ‘Portfolio’.
Sample images from Round 1 can also be seen in the SMJFL photo gallery, under the 'SMJFL HQ' drop down menu.
A selection of photos from every round will be available each week and SMJFL members can purchase any of the photos at the Greg Miller Photography website.
Round 1 | U10 West | East Malvern V Hampton
Round 1 | U10 North | East Malvern V Ormond
Round 1 | U13 Div 4 | East Malvern V Mordialloc
Round 1 | U12 West | East Malvern V St Peters
Round 1 | U9 West | East Malvern Blue V Ajax Comets
Round 1 | U10 South | Ajax Comets V East Malvern Blue
Last Modified on 03/05/2012 09:56