By BEN CARDWELL - Division 3 Reserves
ROUND 1 of the WRFL Division 3 Reserves saw some big wins for the home teams, with the away teams struggling to find much to cheer about.
Reigning premiers Parkside kicked off their 2017 campaign in confident fashion on Saturday as they ran away to a 131-point against Laverton at Henry Turner Reserve.
With their newly-unfurled premiership flag waving above the play, Parkside held Laverton to just one goal, blowing out the lead dramatically in the second half, letting their forwards run amok.
Laverton held their own for much of the first quarter, winning contested possessions and using the width of the ground well.
Some clever snapped goals left Parkside three goals up in the first quarter, while a free kick for a high tackle gave Laverton their only goal for the game.
Despite the difference in score line both teams still seemed in the game at quarter time. As the next quarter unfolded though, Parkside started to dominate the clearances and contests, while Laverton’s pressure dramatically dropped, struggling to get clean possessions in attack.
This continued in the second half, as Parkside kicked 11 goals to Laverton’s nil. Parkside’s composure in the back and through the middle allowed for very clean delivery into the forward line, showed by their 10 different goal kickers.
Big scores were clearly the trend across the rest of the league, as the Wyndham Suns blew out Braybrook by 160-points.
The Suns’ 27 goals included an unanswered 15-goal stretch in the second and third quarter on the back of a combined 13 majors from duo Tyson Szkudlarski and Dean Cachia.
Tarneit also notched a commanding win again Sunshine Heights, as the Titans defence held Sunshine to just one goal until the fourth quarter.
In stark contrast, however, North Sunshine scraped on home against Sanctuary Lakes, pipping the Sharks by the narrowest of margins – one point.
Next week’s fixture sees none of the winners from Round 1 playing each other, meaning that we could potentially finish Round 2 with four undefeated sides – or even with all teams even on points.
The Wyndham Suns will look to kick another big score when they go to Laverton, while Sunshine Heights will be aiming to bounce back in their first home game and topple Parkside.
Sanctuary Lakes will take on Tarneit and Braybrook will look to grab their first win against North Sunshine on Anzac Day.
Picture: BEN CARDWELL
Last Modified on 10/04/2017 12:48