By RHYS WOOSNAM - Division 3 Reserves
AFTER a week off in the WRFL, the action kicked into overdrive as Parkside and Tarneit continued to battle for premiership supremacy.
They both solidified their flag chances with comfortable victories in Round 10 and currently have only percentage separating first and second.
As we pass the half-way point of the 2016 season, banking wins is incredibly important for the superior sides.
Fatigue will begin to be a factor in the coming weeks and so having a gap between yourself and the team below could be the difference between a home ground advantage and completely missing out on finals.
Parkside kept a tight grasp on top spot with another dominant win, this time coming against the Braybrook Bombers.
They kept the Bombers goalless on the way to a 139-point victory. The size of the margin, despite the lack of competition from Braybrook was important in keeping fellow rivals Tarneit at bay.
It was another display of Parkside’s superbly balanced game style as they continually had a rock solid defence and a blistering attack.
In 2016 they have averaged 111 points per game while only conceding 29 to the opposition.
The game itself was a foregone conclusion before the bounce however it took until the second quarter for Parkside to kick into gear.
They booted nine goals to zero and never looked back.
The stars for Parkside included Christopher Hall and Trent Witton with five majors apiece and James Franklin who kicked three.
The loss signalled Braybrook’s ninth straight defeat and has left them a game clear on the bottom and with a measly percentage of just 11.37.
The Bombers must now face an angry Newport Power who will be out for revenge after being dominated by Tarneit.
The Power were looking for an upset victory over Tarneit to keep them in finals contention but those hopes were dashed by half time on Saturday.
With only a four goal advantage to Tarneit at quarter time, Newport still had a chance of overcoming their mighty opponent.
Unfortunately for Newport, Tarneit woke up and slammed home six goals to two and more importantly, kept the Power goalless in the second half.
Ultimately it finished in a 61-point win to Tarneit and an uphill battle in the coming rounds for the Power.
Newport’s finals chances were dealt a further blow by Sanctuary Lakes’ victory over Laverton by 51-points.
The Sharks have now opened up a two game gap between them and the Power and will look to extend that when they play the Wyndham Suns in Round 11.
Last Modified on 21/06/2016 09:14