ERWFL REVIEW

By Alyce Collett

In the Premier Division, Mt Evelyn were not able to get back on the winners list, after being thrashed by Blackburn.

After Mt Evelyn did the initial scoring, it was all Blackburn after that in the first half. 

Blackburn had multiple inside 50s and Mt Evelyn struggled to even get it into their 50, and when they did, they were not deep inside 50s.

Mt Evelyn kicked into gear in the third term and scored three goals, but unfortunately for them that was the only three goals they scored for the match, as Blackburn ran away with the match and in the end were 51 point winners.

Tamara Halit kicked two of Mt Evelyn’s three goals, while Georgia Ploegsma kicked the other one. 

The loss makes a further dent in Mt Evelyn’s final chances. They have dropped to 5^th and really need to get on a winning run in order to make sure they cement their finals chances.

In Division One, Upwey Tecoma further increased the gap between them and the chasing pack after comprehensively beating Knox. Strong scoreboard pressure combined with strong defensive pressure saw Knox restricted to only one goal for the afternoon. The final margin was 79 points.

Alexandria Bantock was the key up forward for the Tigers, kicking six goals. Madison Walsh kicked two goals, while Lana Kitteringham, Mikaela Kuhlwind, Samantha Phelan, Billie Pritchard and Samantha Searle kicked singles.

In the Outer East Division, Healesville continued their dominant ways, thrashing cellar dweller Upwey Tecoma. Upwey Tecoma were kept scoreless for the entire afternoon, as Healesville registered a 78 point win.

Healesville had seven individual goalkickers in the big win, with Jaimee Petersen kicking four, Dannielle Jones and Danielle Carrucan kicking two. Katie Lamb, Emily Hay, Alexandra Woods and Alexandra Bryan all kicked one each.

Despite Thornton – Eildon doubling their score in the final term, it was not enough as Monbulk registered yet another win. 

Thornton – Eildon were restricted to only goal in the first half, but despite the loss can still take some positives out of the game, like how they managed to register the second highest score against Monbulk all season, which when you consider the highest is 29 and most teams struggle to score much at all against the Hawks is an impressive feat.

Kathryn Gow was once again top of the goal kicking tally for Monbulk, but she only kicked two goals. The rest of the goals were singles, to Siobhan Munday, Keltie Blake, Maddison Dodd, Molly Horne and Grace Emmett.

In the closest game of the round, Yarra Junction scored a tight win over Belgrave. 

The margin was 23 points at the main break, but tightened in the third term as the Magpies kicked two goals to Yarra Junction’s one behind.

The margin tightened even further in the last quarter as Yarra Junction once again only kicked one behind, but Belgrave’s one goal for the term wasn’t quite enough, as the Eagles held on for a five point win.

Patsy Boxell kicked two goals for Yarra Junction, while Michelle Goldsmith, Ebony Lee and Emma Mills kicked. Meanwhile for Belgrave, Jessica Weisgerber kicked two, Melanie Chapple and Blaney Murphy kicked one each.

The ladder in the Outer East Division appears to be becoming more and more settled as the season goes on. 

Healesville and Monbulk are still the top two teams, and neither have really looked like being defeated for a while.

Yarra Junction seem pretty safe in 3^rd place, as they are three games clear of 4^th placed Belgrave. 

The Magpies are only half a game ahead of 5^th placed Thornton – Eildon, so to be on the safe side they should try and win as many games as possible for the remainder of the year, but Thornton – Eildon and last placed Upwey Tecoma haven’t really looked like winning a game for a while. In saying that, they still have to replay the round 8 match between the two sides, so depending on the result of that match, things could get very interesting.