The Seniors made it 10 consecutive wins with a 42-point win over Marcellin away at Bulleen in what was a great weekend for the club with all four teams winning.
Our opponents were on song and on fire early, applying pressure both physically and on the scoreboard, and the Rovers had no answer as the travelling supporters witnessed numerous fumbles, missed marks and miskicking. Coach Pask pointed out at quarter time how his chargers were beaten in centre clearances and by the number of uncontested marks that the opposition took. Two of the Eagles first three goals came from free kicks followed by 50m penalties, but on the other hand the Rovers only goal came from the boot of Chris Perkins where he was awarded two 50m penalties for his opponent’s transgressions
Hampton switched on at the start of the second with goals to Corey Jones after a strong mark and Ant Folino on the run who bounced one through from outside of the square. Our mids had tightened up and with Christian Carnovale in the game, Chris Perkins working hard and James Prosser doing some clever things with the ball, the momentum changing. The backline missing Oscar Roberts and Joel Melnjak was holding firm. VDS was playing his usual punishing role on the full forward and Hugo Lay was very effective at centre half back.
By the main break, the scoreboard was even. Within a couple of minutes of the third quarter starting, Corey Jones gave a sizzling pass to Will Crawford who kicked accurately. Will scored his second after a ragged attempt by Marcellin to spoil in a marking contest resulted in a free. Hampton had slowly drawn ahead while keeping Marcellin scoreless until the last couple of minutes when a free kick to them reduced the margin to 10 points.
In the last quarter, the Rovers finally got back to playing the brand of footy we had become accustomed to this season. Pross hit Tredders with a “floating pass” for goal, Cam Carmeni, in his first game for 2024, took a strong mark and gave a great pass to Will Crawford for his third goal for the afternoon. Tredders goaled again when being on the end of a chain of Rovers handballs. We were on fire and the Eagles had no answer. Big Tom and Tredders in the ruck were on top and had just worn down the sole Marcellin big man. As we entered time on, Corey Jones took another strong mark for a goal, Huggy’s pass to Ant Folino and then quick handball to Will Crawford resulted in his 4th goal and the icing on the cake in the final minute was Max Coughlin’s pass to the skipper who didn’t miss.
The Rovers backs held firm after quarter time only allowing the opposition a goal in each quarter. Crispy was playing his hard no compromise footy, Aussie Parker was doing lots of hard running and of course the two big blokes in VDS and Hugo Lay controlled their opponents.
Next up, the Rovers take on Glen Eira on Saturday at Packer Pack. Note the start time has reverted to the traditional 2pm timeslot (was initially set for a 4:45pm twilight start).
Marc 3.2 4.4 5.5 6.7 43
HR 1.2 4.7 6.9 12.13 85
Best: Hugo Lay, Corey Jones, Austin Parker, Christian Carnovale, Harry Crisp, Liam O’Driscoll
Goals: Ant Folino 1, Chris Perkins 1, Jamie Delaney 1, Max Coughlin 1, Corey Jones 2, Will Crawford 4, Liam O’Driscoll 2
SENIOR WOMEN
The Rovers Senior Women great hard fought win in the 1st Semi Final in a game where until three quarter time the scores resembled a Matildas game rather than a Rovers game! Still in the end, the class of the Rovers showed and to kick 3.2 in the crunch last quarter to 0.1 made it clear that our better fitness won out in the end. While leading goal kicker Maegan Miller kicked one for the day it was great to see youngsters in Pearl Daniel-Reid and Isla Tucker hitting the scoreboard.
Clearly from the best players listed the old heads kept their cool and put in good performances on the day. It was never going to be an easy game against Powerhouse with the last contest being a draw, the teams are clearly well matched and at three quarter time it was anyone’s game – only a goal in it. Next up, the Rovers play Whitefriars at ETU Stadium (Port Melbourne VFL Ground) Saturday 2:10pm.
Powerhouse 0.1 0.3 1.3 1.4 10
HR 0.1 0.1 0.3 3.5 23
Best : Greta Robertson, Maegan Miller, Hayley Gould, Shae Raywood, Bree-Anna Kavanagh, Casey Politarhis
Goals: Maegan Miller 1, Pearl Daniel-Reid 1, Isla Tucker 1
SENIOR RESERVES
Similar to the Seniors, the Marcellin Reserves started strong and it wasn’t until the second half when the Rovers took control of the contest. Marcellin only kicked 1 goal after the main break while we kicked 6.6. Good to see Scotty Ebbott and Nick Jackson back from illness and injury and playing well.
Marcellin 3.2 5.4 5.6 6.9 45
HR 2.0 5.2 8.5 11.8 74
Best: Jarrod Dartnell, Scott Ebbott, Darcy Lyon, Daniel Field, Johnny Wilson
Goals: Ryan Leslie 2, Nick Jackson 3, Finn McMaster 2, Darcy Lyon 2, Andrew Woolston 2
UNDER 19s
A big Friday night game at the Boss against rivals Old Haileybury with second spot on the line, a huge crowd when you consider we had no social rooms and the boys had to squeeze themselves into portables! The scores tell the story, the opposition started strongly and the first quarter was a real arm wrestle. As the game progressed, the Rovers used their pace and skills to increase the lead at each change and a 5 goal win over the team just above on the ladder was a fitting result. The Rovers find themselves second on the ladder with one round remaining.
HR 2.2 5.2 7.4 9.9 63
OHA 2.2 3.5 3.9 4.9 33
Best: Will Rogacki, Lui Coughlin, James Keys, Lachy Celantano, Mason Carrigan
Goals: Ben Celantano 1,Charlie McSwain 1, Mason Carrigan 1, Charles Kilburn 1, Will Rogacki 5
