By Geoff 'Joffa' Newstead
After weeks of fine, sunny conditions, typical footy weather finally arrived on Saturday as the Mooroolbark Mustangs hosted Beaconsfield at the Heights Reserve on a cold, rainy day.
The Senior Women opened proceedings, managing to hold off the Beaconsfield girls in a tough encounter. Bella McMaster showed her class and skill once again, booting 2 goals and being voted best on ground. Ella Brown and Jane Pirouc also contributed with a goal each.
Final Score: Moorooolbark 4 – 8 – 32 d Beaconsfield 2 – 2 – 14
Goals: McMaster 2, Brown, Pirouc 1 each
Best Players: McMaster, Brown, Lech, Delaney, R. Haberfield, Forrest
The Reserves took on the strong Beaconsfield combination and, after a slow start, managed to match it with their opponents in the second half, eventually going down by 58 points.
Max Batten put in his best game for the season so far and was rewarded with best player honours. Mason Sheedy again showed his class with another good performance and newcomer to the club, Jett Blumeris, also showed what he is capable of with a number of quality possessions. There were a lot of promising signs which will hopefully be reflected on the scoreboard in the coming weeks.
Final Score: Beaconsfield 14 – 13 – 97 d Mooroolbark 6 – 3 – 39
Goals: Walker, Blumeris, Wolf, Kowalski, Tewksbury, Storm 1 each
Best Players: Batten, Sheedy, Blumeris, Argus, Lutgens, Jack Kist
By the time the Seniors ran out, there had been a few showers of rain and the ground and the ball had become slippery, but that didn’t detract from the fierce contest that was to follow. Skipper Kane Noonan led from the front, providing plenty of drive from midfield while defender Harry Keeling took arguably the mark of the year and was voted the Mustangs’ best. Harry’s mark even featured on the Channel 9 Footy Show on Sunday morning. Billy Batten played his best game of the season so far while Connor Riley also showed us what he is capable of in defence. With the same number of scoring shots as our opponents, the Mustangs’ accuracy in front of goal again let them down. Coach Ben Wheat, in his after match address, praised the playing group for their endeavour against quality opposition and is confident his players are on the right track. This week, Mooroolbark host arch rivals Montrose at the Heights in what should be an enthralling encounter, so if you can, get down to the ground and cheer on the Mighty Mustangs.
Final Score : Beaconsfield 8 – 5 – 53 d Mooroolbark 4 – 8 – 32
Goals : Gebert, Neal, Monteath, Symonds 1 each
Best Players: Keeling, Noonan, Batten, Hartman, Crossley, Riley
