Pines pulls off shock victory in MPNFL
FRANKSTON YCW coach Tony "Bugsy" Barry remained upbeat, despite his side's shock one-point loss to Pines at Eric Bell Reserve on Saturday. A Harley Parker goal in the final minute gave Pines a thrilling win and ended the Stonecats' 23-game winning streak in the MPNFL. It was YCW's first loss since July 3 last year. It's probably good for the competition that we got beaten," Barry said. I think the league wanted closer games and we've got that now. But Barry, who said it was never YCW's goal to go through the season undefeated, was quick to praise Pines. "We probably didn't do enough homework on Pines," he said. "To their credit they played some great footy. Pines trailed by 32 points late in the third quarter before staging a remarkable comeback. Guy Hendry was moved forward and took a couple of big grabs and kicked two pivotal goals as the Pythons stormed home. Coach Gary Connolly declared it the best win of his career. "That's the best, easily," he said. "I've had a grand final win . . . but, gee, from where we came from . . ." The Pines social rooms were pulsating on Saturday night as players and fans crammed in to celebrate a monumental day for the local community. "At 8 o'clock people were still saying that they still haven't come down to that realism of what's happened," Connolly said. Connolly said all Pines players played a role in the win and nominating best players was difficult. But Jake Berry, up from the reserves, deserved credit after doing an outstanding job on Ash Eames. Little Shaun "Terror" Stewart also was superb. YCW forward Michael Chaplin booted eight goals and Ben Tellis, in his 200th game, kicked a major. With three games left, Pines (9-6) are in fifth spot, a game, plus percentage, clear of sixth-placed Seaford. Their first finals berth in more than seven years is within reach. Seaford star Michael Kraska drilled 10 goals in the Tigers' 32-point win over Mt Eliza at Alexandra Park. It was Kraska's third bag of 10 in the past five games and he leads the competition goals with 65. The man they call "Damage", Luke Damon, booted eight goals in Chelsea's 73-point win over Langwarrin. Karingal had 12 goalkickers, including Justin Peckett (four), in its runaway 128-point win over Mornington. And fourth-placed Edi-Asp beat Bonbeach by 17 points, with Brent Bowden (five goals) and Bradley Tagg (four) starring.
