SENIORS
Panton Hill kicked with the aid of a strong wind in the first quarter against Mernda last week at Shelley Park and dominated the first 10 minutes. However, they couldn't capitalise on the opportunities and allowed Mernda to get their running game going. There were some costly skill errors by the Redbacks that turned the ball over and resulted in goals to the Demons. Mernda took a 2 goal lead at quarter time. In the second term Panton Hill again played some good football to keep Mernda to 1 goal, but couldn't manage any majors themselves. The third was similar to the first quarter but The Hills didn't do enough with the opportunities and Mernda extended their lead to 27 points. With Mernda kicking goals early in the last it looked like game over, but The Hills edged back with a few goals and cut the margin to just 14 points at one stage. A long shot by Brendan O'Connor unfortunately hit the post just when it looked like it was going through and that provided the opportunity for Mernda to run the ball the length of the ground, kick a goal and break the game open. From there the floodgates opened and The Demons finished with a comfortable 56 point win. Better players came from the on-ballers including Simon Amore, Benn Parker, Abe Williams, Tristan Kreymborg, Anthony Bryce and Ben Strongman.The Hills now need to regroup to take on Reservoir in the preliminary final at Epping next week.
RESERVES
The Reserves were against Reservoir, the team they beat in last years grand final and with one of the best sides for the season on the field took the game on right from the first quarter. Reservoir really never got a look in against a faster and stronger Panton Hill side. The senior players in Dave Varano, Simon Gunn and Nathan Grimshaw were terrific through the midfield and around the ground along with Andrew Jackson in the ruck and Matt Layt on the wing. Andrew Boyle also continued to show his value with another strong performance in the backline. The Hills now take on St Mary's in the preliminary final at Epping next week.
Last Modified on 26/09/2012 09:58