2 July - Victorian Amateur Football Association

DIVISION 4Simon FullerRICHMOND CENTRALSTAKE CLAIM FOR TOP TWO SPOTPositions 5-9 tightened up again, plenty of gunforwards kicked big bags of goals and RichmondCentral announced themselves as a genuinecontender for the double chance in finals,knocking off second placed Swinburne in a matchof the round that lived up to all expectations.Point Cook made the trek to Manningham,desperate to arrest its current losing streak.But, out at Koonung, it was Manningham whoprevailed; coming from behind to win by 19points. Scott McPherson was the hero for theCobras, kicking seven goals, which takes him to17 in the last three weeks and Ben Cookson waslively. Aaron Marsh had six for the Bulldogs andTroy Wilson continued his brilliant recent form.Of the also-rans at the halfway mark of theseason, it looked like the Tigers were the mostlikely challengers for a top four spot by the endof the year. But it was North Brunny who took thechocolates, with a comprehensive thumping. Itwas a dominant display by North, with Pat Notarobagging eleven in a sensational display.Chadstone had perhaps their best performanceof the season at Elgar Park, holding the lead atquarter time against the Demons and finishingwith 22 scoring shots. Unfortunately, their radarwas off, only registering six goals, but the signs areencouraging. Box Hill North kicked into gear in thesecond quarter, piling on 7.4 to 0.1 to set up theirwin. Club legend and three-time B&F Afrim Odzawas terrific in his 300th game for the Demons,booting three, including a vintage run where hemanaged to dodge several would-be tacklers andkick truly. Prime movers Daniel Field and FranciscoGeorge were the best for Chadstone.Eley Park hosted St Francis Xavier at WhitehorseReserve and would have been confident theycould give the top side a run for their money afterthe X-Men had looked vulnerable in recent times.The SFX response was emphatic, flexing theirmuscles in a ten goal victory. Kicking with thebreeze in the first quarter, the X-Men registeredsix goals to one from the Sharks. Leigh Andrews,Dimitri Dimakopoulos and Simon Van Dam werethe catalysts, giving the potent SFX forward lineplenty of opportunities. The Sharks fought backin the second term, reducing the margin to lessthan a goal at the main break. The third quarterbelonged to the X-Men’s spearhead, with BenSpencer putting on a clinic with an amazingseven goals in the quarter, taking the game outof Eley Park’s reach. Paul Gould and Paul Bonadiocontrolled the X-Men’s backline throughout theday. Chris Brown was great for the Sharks withthree goals and Jon Edlich kicked four.Match of the Round was out at the homeof the Razorbacks, with second spot on theladder potentially being up for grabs betweenSwinburne University and Richmond Central. Itwas the visiting Snakes who saluted in a matchthat lived up to the billing, with just five pointsseparating the teams at the final siren. Richmondwere happy to battle Swinburne to a stalemateagainst the wind in the first quarter, beforemaking their move in the second stanza, withfour goals to one for the home side, giving thema twenty point lead at halftime. Central veteranAdam Fiske had his best game for the year, BenRyan and Shaun Jones provided plenty of drivefrom half back and Seb Angus was locked in anengrossing battle with Phil Wild, who was alsodropping back in defence and making thingstough for Christian Traeger. Swinburne respondedto the challenge in the premiership quarter withfive goals to nothing giving them the lead back.Two quick goals to the Snakes in the fourth madeit a one point game and then Centrals pepperedTODAYSelections in BOLDPOINT COOK v NORTH BRUNSWICKMANNINGHAM COBRAS v ELEY PARK SHARKSSOUTH MORNINGTON v SWINBURNE UNIVERSITYRICHMOND CENTRAL v BOX HILL NORTHCHADSTONE v ST FRANCIS XAVIER14 THE AMATEUR FOOTBALLER 2011SPORTS INJURY CASUALTY - OPEN 1-7 SATURDAY