Hampton Rovers put last week’s disappointment behind them to record a convincing 69-point victory over ladder-leaders Marcellin at Boss James Reserve.
The Rovers have defeated Marcellin on both occasions in 2014, also getting the job done by 52 points back in round two at Bulleen, they’ve dropped just one other game since then.
It was a dominant display by the green and gold and coach Guy Martyn praised the back six, who restricted the visitors to just two goals for the entire game.
Wet conditions made the game sloppy at times, but the weather cleared in the second half and that’s when the Rovers put the foot down, kicking seven goals in the third term to blow the game out of the water, taking the margin from 11 to 57 points at three-quarter time.
Rovers well on top against the ladder leaders. Leading @MarcellinOCFC by 57 points at 3qtr time pic.twitter.com/D0leWdW5ZR
— Hampton Rovers FC (@HRAFC) July 5, 2014
Hampton had a number of key inclusions with Lynch, McPherson, Verlin and Schmitz all returning to the side plus Thomas Rowse and young Jack Toouli playing their first senior games for the club.
All the players coming in had an impact on the game and Toouli had an immediate one, kicking the opening goal of the match. There were no passengers in the Rovers side and the performance was in stark contrast to last week’s match against Parkdale – certainly one to forget.
Josh Verlin made his return to the seniors after a game in the reserves last week and provided a target up front, kicking three goals while Josh McPherson also finished the day with three.
“We’ve beaten them twice now comfortably, which is really good and it was good to bounce back after a really disappointing loss last week,” Hampton coach Guy Martyn told the Bayside Leader.
“Losing to Parkdale by so much and then beating Marcellin by a fair bit is a fair turnaround so it’s good to bounce back.”
The VAFA takes a week off for representative footy this weekend and after that the Rovers travel down the coast to face Peninsula Old Boys. After 12 rounds, Hampton remains third on the Premier C ladder, equal with second-placed Monash on 32 points, one game clear of fourth-placed Peninsula while Marcellin remain top one game ahead.
HAMPTON ROVERS 2.4 4.9 11.11 13.13 (91)
MARCELLIN 0.3 1.6 2.8 2.10 (22)
Goal Kickers: J. Verlin 3, J. McPherson 3, M. Care 2, S. Clements 2, E. Turner , J. Schmitz , J. Toouli
Best Players: R. Atkins, J. Lovig, J. Toouli, K. McNeil, C. Carnovale, A. McNeil
– Watch the full match replay on VAFATV >
It was oh so close to four wins for the club on Saturday with both the Reserves and Under 19s also recording big victories. Unfortunately the Thirds couldn’t get over the line, despite a 90-point turnaround from last time they met, they finished strong but went down by nine points in the early game.
The Reserves also had an impressive display against Marcellin. Last time they met it was a 48 point loss but the Rovers turned that around and got the win by 44 points. The margin was just nine points at the final break but in the last term the Rovers kicked seven goals to one to record their third victory of the season. Cain Malthouse kicked three for the Rovers while Nick Jewell, Marlon Woltering and Matt Powell were best. View report >
The Ressies sing the song after defeating Marcellin by 44 points #gorovers pic.twitter.com/YWvIu8ZfEk
— Hampton Rovers FC (@HRAFC) July 5, 2014
The Under 19s travelled to Monash University in Clayton to face the Blues and with a good side in, recorded a big 84-point victory – their third-straight win. Harry Hodges, Mackie Robertson and Josh Elston were amongst the best while the Rovers had 12 goal kickers with Cam Jones, Zaina, Campion, Emmins and Robertson kicking two each. View report >
The President’s Luncheon prior to the main game on Saturday recognised the 50-year members of the club and we’ll have more about that during the week. The next luncheon on 26 July will be a special luncheon with the Sandringham Zebras Football Club – we’ll have more details closer to the date.
Seniors scoreworm:
