By KRISTEN ALEBAKIS
NORTH Sunshine started its season off in dramatic fashion last Saturday, with the Division 3 team holding off a fast finishing Sunshine Heights.
North Sunshine led by 34-points heading into the final quarter of the match and looked likely Round 1 winners, until a barrage of Sunshine Heights goals gave the away side some last quarter jitters.
The Roadrunners kicked just one goal five in the final quarter to the Dragons’ six goals one.
Sunshine Heights, who were relegated from Division 2 and didn’t score win at all in 2015, almost snatched the win, but couldn’t manage to close the gap, losing by just eight points.
For North Sunshine, Anthony Fawcus led the way with five goals, Brenton Cooper also booted four of his own.
Keelan Privitera led the charge with four goals for Sunshine Heights, while playing-coach Robert Greto and Gregory Porter also kicked three goals each.
The Dragons should be proud of their efforts in the opening game of the season and under the guidance of Greto, will look to build on their round one performance.
While for North Sunshine, the coach Joe Larizza will address those goal kicking issues in the final quarter this week.
The club will be aiming for back-to-back wins when they take on Laverton in Round 2.
That match will be played under-lights at Dempster Park. The reserves will kick-off at 5pm while the seniors will play at 7.15pm.
New senior team Newport Power came close to scoring a round one win against Tarneit, but fell short by 11-points.
In what was a close game all day, the Power, led by playing coach Mark Williams, couldn’t manage to bridge the gap.
However, it was the best possible start to the season for Tarneit.
After claiming five wins last season, the club is hopeful of having a bigger impact on the senior competition in 2016.
Aaron Molivas kicked four goals and Richard Psaila kicked three for Tarneit, while Williams was leading the goal kicker for Newport with four majors.
Parkside stamped their authority on the competition with a massive 121-point victory against Braybrook at Pennell Reserve.
After a close first quarter, Parkside was able to pull away from their opponents, scoring eight goals in the second quarter, seven in third and then another nine goals in the final term.
Mohammed Khartabil was unstoppable for Parkside, kicking a massive 13 goals.
Sanctuary Lakes also made a positive start to the season with a 22-point win against Laverton.
The Sharks led from the first bounce to the final siren, securing an all-important round one win.
Last Modified on 13/04/2016 09:19