Hampton Rovers travelled to TH King Oval on Saturday to face one of the Premier B flag favourites St Kevin’s Old Boys and the home side lived up to the hype, getting up by 57 points.
The Rovers have had a challenging start to their 2015 campaign, facing the top three sides in as many weeks and fell to their third successive defeat to have a one-three record after four rounds.
St Kevin’s have recruited well and with the likes of ex-AFL players Salopek, Gilham and Gysberts running around, they were a classy outfit moving the ball quickly and with precision. The Rovers worked hard all day but struggled to match the quality of the home side.
In fine conditions at Glen Iris, the home side kicked with the breeze in the first and while the Rovers had plenty of the ball early on, it didn’t take long for SKOBs to turn it on. They kicked four goals before Hampton got one on the board through Kyle Docherty. The procession continued and they held a 38-point lead at the first break.
The second term was better by the Rovers, kicking six goals to five. However it could have been worse with St Kevin’s wasteful in front of goal. The Rovers had twice as many scoring shots as their opponents in the third term but both sides kicked four goals each. It was a better quarter from the Rovers however as they managed to control the footy and put the home side under pressure. Going into the final change it was 35 points the difference but the feeling was the Rovers weren’t out of the contest.
That changed early in the final term with St Kevin’s kicking five unanswered goals to blow the margin out to 65 points. The Rovers responded but it was too little too late and while Hampton did put 15 goals on the board to each the ton, it was a comprehensive 57-point defeat. The margin wasn’t a true reflection and there were plenty of positives from the game.
Matt Robbins finished with five goals and Danny Corp two while best for the Rovers was Kyle Docherty.
The Rovers now look forward to the Grand Final replay this Saturday against Parkdale Vultures at Boss James Reserve. View the VAFA Premier B Ladder.
HAMPTON ROVERS 2.3 8.5 11.9 15.14 (104)
ST KEVINS OLD BOYS 7.11 12.18 16.20 23.23 (161)
Goal Kickers: M. Robbins 5, D. Corp 4, E. Turner, M. Devereaux, A. Spencer, C. Sharp, K. Docherty, J. Ting
Best Players: K. Docherty, D. Corp, M. Robbins, L. Fletcher, S. Clements, C. Sharp
Watch: Full match replay >
Good quarter by the Rovers, putting SKOBs under pressure. Still in the game. 35 points the margin #gorovers pic.twitter.com/TQQohdGBnO
— Hampton Rovers FC (@HRAFC) May 2, 2015
In the early game, the Reserves were no match for St Kevin’s who have a number of regular senior players from last year running around in the seconds after their recruiting spree. Bryce Pewtress and the Short brothers were best for the Rovers with goals to Tim Jones and Lachie Wheeler.
The Thirds faced Old Ivanhoe away at Chelsworth Park and battled hard with 18 players. While kicking seven goals which was an improved performance, they went down by 53 points. Best was captain Liam Dynon, Ben Woodland and Sam Cougan who also kicked a couple of goals.
The Under 19s took on arch rivals Ormond in the Grand Final replay at Boss James Reserve and suffered their first defeat of the 2015 season, going down by 36 points. Jack Zaina, James Benjamin and Luke Morcom were best with Darcy Merlo, Jack Campion and Joel Emmins amongst the goals.
Seniors scoreworm:
