By RHYS WOOSNAM - Division 3 Seniors
ROUND 6 of the WRFL season saw upsets, streaks broken and one of the most dominant displays for a forward in recent history.
As we said goodbye to the first third of the 2017 year, Parkside solidified themselves as the team to beat, notching their sixth win in a row. They demolished Sanctuary Lakes by 142-points to extend their lead atop the ladder.
The thrashing came off the back of a herculean effort from gun forward Jason Cloke. The former Collingwood champion booted 12 of Parkside’s 23 goals to assert his dominance in the goal-kicking stakes.
After a tumultuous start to the year, with harsh criticism overshadowing his signing with Parkside, Cloke has let his football do the talking. With Saturday’s haul of 12, he has taken his season tally to an impressive 33 goals from six games.
If Cloke can continue his current form, Parkside will be incredibly difficult to chase down in the premiership race. They will now look towards Round 7 and their opponents Braybrook who suffered a shock loss to the lowly Laverton.
It was sixth time lucky for the Magpies, as they fought hard all game and despite some inaccuracy, defeated the Bombers by 12-points.
Laverton were led by superb performances from Lachlan Chapman, Samuel Young and Luke Freake.
For Braybrook, it was a matter of leaving their run too late. Kicking six goals to four in the second half saw them with the ascendancy, but they had given their opponents too much breathing room early on.
Laverton’s first win for 2017 gives them a fighting chance of avoiding the wooden spoon, with only percentage separating them and Sanctuary Lakes.
The Sunshine Derby started close, but ultimately fizzled out, with North Sunshine dominating in the second half to win by 11 goals.
The victory coming at such a high margin will prove vital for Roadrunners, as they are within striking distance of the top three.
They will face a tough task next week against Tarneit who will be seething after they let one slip away, going down to the Wyndham Suns by 27-points.
SUNSHINE HEIGHTS JUMP TO FOURTH PLACE
By BEN CARDWELL
AS we move into the second third of the Division 3 Reserves season, we could barely have a more spread out field on the ladder.
Sunshine Heights have jumped cross-town rivals North Sunshine after their win in the big game at Dempster Park on Saturday. The Dragons came out 36-point victors in a fiery affair, with no love lost between the two sides.
Sunshine Heights took their chances time and time again, and while they generally didn’t seem dominant over North Sunshine around the ground, their pressure going forward secured them an early lead that they managed to hold on to.
Clean possessions and plenty of space through the corridor kept the Dragons on top throughout, with Beau Verona’s run and composure through half back looking particularly damaging.
North will be disappointed with the loss, but shouldn’t be completely disheartened, as their third quarter momentum and overall competitiveness shows a silver lining to their cloud of defeat.
They’ll be a happy lot in Laverton this week after the Magpies recorded their first win of the season, beating the lowly Braybrook by 48-points. Haydon Masson kicked four goals for Laverton, while the Braybrook struggled with their accuracy, finishing with three goals and 12 behinds.
It was a good week for the other Magpies too, with Parkside thumping Sanctuary Lakes by a huge 128-points. Parkside piled eight goals on in the last quarter, with Matthew Radziejewski kicking six and Chris Hall slotting five goals.
Over in Wyndham the inconsistent Suns will be looking forward to their next game after a 97-point loss to Tarneit.
The Titans returned to their fine form after their home loss last week, as they push to keep the pressure on Parkside at the top of the table.
Next Saturday, league-leaders Parkside take on the winless Braybrook at Pennel Reserve. Sunshine Heights and Laverton will play in Sunshine, while the Suns will look to turn things around against Sanctuary lakes.
Over at Wootten Road, Tarneit will be looking for another big win when they take on North Sunshine.
Last Modified on 22/05/2017 13:14