The Hampton Rovers put on a dominant display to defeat bottom-placed Therry Penola by a record 201 points on Saturday. The win was the first away from home this season, while the Reserves and Under 19s also recorded strong victories.
The 38 goals kicked by Hampton is an all-time high for the seniors however the total score of 244 was 1 point short of the all-time highest score; that was set in the premiership year of 1995 when the Rovers defeated Glenhuntly 36.29.245 to 8.6.54. Having said that, the 201 point victory is believed to be a record margin for the senior team.
The Rovers came out firing and despite kicking against a slight wind in the opening term, booted 15 goals while keeping the home team scoreless. They played an impressive running game with Rob Alexander and Daniel Andersen dominant in the middle, while the goals came from 8 players. All the scoring made for a long quarter – 37 minutes to be exact. At the first break, it was the Rovers leading 15.3.93 to 0.0.0.
Holding such a hefty lead so early on, it was important for the Rovers not to lose focus for the remainder of the game. The second quarter saw them add another 5 to the tally while Therrys first score of the game, a behind, was greeted by an ironic cheer from the home faithful, before the managed a couple of majors. At the main break, the Rovers led by 106 points.
The third term was similar to the first with Hampton managing 11 through the big sticks. Full-back Gerrard Woods was again solid along with centre-half-back Gary Carr restricting the home side from scoring virtually every time they went forward. At three-quarter time, it was the Rovers leading by 163 points.
The Rovers aimed to finish the game strong, and that they did putting on a further 7 goals while restricting Therry to just the one. As the final siren blew to put the home side out of their misery, the scoreboard read Hampton Rovers 38.16.244 to Therry Penola 5.13.43, a 201-point margin.
Rovers full-forward Matthew Lawrence was again instrumental up front kicking 10 goals for the game while Luke Dallas was a stand-out on the wing pushing up to kick 5 of his own. It was the team as a whole though that were impressive, and they?ll be looking to maintain the good form when they face up against Prahran next week in a big game at Boss James Reserve.
Better players for the Rovers were Rob Alexander, Daniel Andersen, Matthew Lawrence, Gary Carr, Gerrard Woods and Josh Verlin. Lawrence booted a bag of 10, while Luke Dallas managed 5, Zampaglione & De Boer 4, Ferrari & Holt 3, Devereaux & Trembath 2, with singles to Alexander, Carr, Duddy, Ng and Leigh Fletcher.
The Reserves started strongly and were up by 34 points at half time. It was a similar margin at three quarter time before the home side came back in the final term getting within a point before the Rovers came home strongly kicking 3 goals to win by 24 points. Best players were Lee Smith, Tom Rootsey and Callum Donald while the multiple goal kickers were Matthew Gray and Tom Rootsey with 3 each, and 2 to Jeremy Yelland.
The Under 19s continued their winning form defeating Old Haileybury by 59 points at home. Best players were captain Kyle Pinto, Tom McCarthy, Nathan Morecroft, Josh Schmitz, Michael Davis and Michael Stowe. Morecroft kicked 5 goals, Jason Giasoumi 3, Pinto 2 with singles to Krull, McCarthy, Lewis, Stowe and Steedman.
HAMPTON ROVERS 15.3 20.5 31.12 38.16 (244)
THERRY PENOLA 0.0 2.7 4.11 5.13 (43)
Best: Alexander, Andersen, Lawence, Carr, Woods, Verlin.
Goals: Lawrence 10, Dallas 5, Zampaglione 4, De Boer 4, Ferrari 3, Holt 3, Devereaux 2, Trembath 2, Alexander, Carr, Duddy, Ng, L.Fletcher.