Hampton Rovers produced one of their better performances of the season but it wasn’t enough as ladder-leaders Beaumaris won the local derby by four goals at Boss James Reserve.
Essentially it was the third term which lost it, where the visitors kicked five goals six to nothing. That blew the margin out to 45 points, a gap too far for the Rovers. Still, many were predicting a whitewash at the start of the day for the bottom v top clash, but the boys gave a good account of themselves and plenty of positives leading into next week.
Kicking against a strong wind in front of a good-sized crowd, the Rovers started the game strong, something the young side has struggled to do so far in 2016. Sam Bradford kicked the first goal of the game and it took until the 15-minute mark for the visitors to open their account, through a free kick. Traeger-Haig kicked the Rovers second and it was goal-for-goal as the visitors responded.
The Rovers had held their opposition who had the strong wind advantage, but let them kick four goals in five minutes to close out the first term and lead by 26 points at the first break, a score line which didn’t necessarily reflect the Rovers’ effort.
Goals to Corp, Fletcher and Smith in the second quarter reduced the margin while the visitors kicked one of their own. The Rovers did however have a few missed opportunities that should have seen them take the lead at the main break, instead it was Beaumaris leading by nine points. The young Rovers side jogged off the ground and spirits were high amongst the playing group and supporters.
The Rovers backs were performing well against their highly-fancied opposition. Richard Atkins kept ex-Saint Stephen Milne to two goals for the day with the two coming cheaply.
The third term was all the visitors though, with the wind, they posted five majors as the controlled the footy across the ground with sharp passes while the home side failed to score at all. The margin had extended out to 45 points at the three-quarter time. It seemed the game was out of reach but the Rovers had shown fight and wouldn’t give up.
Five minutes into the last term, the Sharks kicked two goals in quick succession to take the margin out to a game-high 57 points. The Rovers didn’t drop their heads though, as Clements, Bradford and Kneebush kicked the next three for Hampton. Beauy responded before the Rovers went on to kick the next four consecutive majors to bring the deficit back to 22 points, including a great running goal to Sam Bradford who celebrated in style. A late goal through ex-Rover Gribbin, his fourth of the day, made the margin 28 points as the final siren blew shortly after.
Mat Care played his 100th senior game for the club but sat the second half out after flying high going for a mark and landing awkwardly.
Daniel Corp fished the game with four goals with Sam Bradford and Nathan Smith kicking two each. Rich Atkins was best for the Rovers, along with Jack Lloyd and Leigh Fletcher.
Coach Owen Lalor was pleased with the effort but the boys are still chasing that maiden win. With plenty of positives drawn from this clash, it’s a step forward and momentum the boys need to take into next week against Old Haileybury at Princess Park, Caulfield.
HAMPTON ROVERS 2.1 5.6 5.6 12.6 (78)
BEAUMARIS 6.3 7.3 12.9 16.10 (106)
Goal Kickers: D. Corp 4, S. Bradford 2, N. Smith 2, B. Traeger-Haig, B. Kneebush, S. Clements, L. Fletcher
Best Players: R. Atkins, J. Lloyd, L. Fletcher, D. Corp, Z. Donald, W. Walker
In the Reserves, Beaumaris were far too strong for the Rovers. Their depth clearly evident as they destroyed the home side. Goal kickers for Hampton were Jack Campion with two and one to Ben Clarke.
The Under 19s were looking to win their third on the trot but faced a tough challenge against ladder-leaders Williamstown CYMS. Playing a home game at Brighton Beach Oval, the Rovers went down by 12 goals to drop to sixth on the ladder. Matt Oswald, Sam Gall and Scott Ebbott were best for the Rovers while we had four single goal kickers. Next week the boys take on Collegians away.
