Round Three Rundown

Hats off to Aaron Tymms' led Melton (11.12-78) who remain the only undefeated side in the BFNL after a thrilling one-point win over Sebastopol (12.5-77) at MacPhersons Park on Saturday. The Bloods were without their preferred starting midfield of Ben Archard, Dyson Stevens and Matt Denham, but managed to hold off a gallant 'Burras outfit fresh off the bye. In arguably the most physical game of the round, Young Blood Bailey Mawson was recognised as Best on Ground in just his ninth senior game, while the Carter brothers and Kevin Klix combined for eight of Melton's 11 goals to help register the winning score. For the 'Burras, midfielders Lachlan Cassidy, Luke Kiel (three goals), and Ryan Noether fought tirelessly all day with tall-man Toby Hutt only to fall agonisingly short at the final siren. The Bloods face the toughest draw in 2021 and will be thrilled with their 3-0 start, having accounted for Melton South, Sunbury and now Sebastopol. The 'Burras (1-1), on the other hand, will have lost no admirers with their effort on the road.

A much-improved Melton South (16.8-104) has shrugged off the challenge of a wasteful Bacchus Marsh (10.14-74) to record a deserved 30-point win at home on Saturday. The Panthers took full advantage of a door left wide open by the Cobras in the early stages, who booted 1.6 with the slight breeze before the Panthers had even settled. But in fairness, the Cobras inefficiency didn't rest entirely on their returns in front of goal. Despite having an equal share of the footy, if not more, Bacchus Marsh's hard work to win the footy was often undone by a lack of fundamental execution. Full credit to the Panthers, they'll be a tough match-up for any side moving forward given their top-end talent are all north of 6’1” in the old - extremely mobile, very good overhead, dangerous around goal and can kick the ball 'a mile'. I speak of Bradley Olsson, Dylan Conway, Paul Curtis, Ryan Pendlebury and Shaun Wyatt, all of whom played influential roles in Saturday's win (including a collective 10 goals). Credit must also go to Panthers coach Heath Pritchard, who rolled the dice successfully in the final term, throwing athletic type Will Thornton-Gielen into the ruck to combat a dominant yet tiring Daniel Burton.

East Point (13.15-93) continued their see-sawing start to 2021 with a 23-point win over a bullish Sunbury (9.16-70) at Eastern Oval on Saturday. Fortunately for the Kangas, they've been on the right side of their 'game of two halves' scenario in two of their opening three games but rest assured, coach Jake Bridges will be wanting an end to this scoreboard pattern before it's given 'all too familiar' status. Round One saw East Point return halves of +29 points and -47 points against Sebastopol. Round Two was -19 points in the first half and +66 points in the second half against the Lakers, and they were +56 points after half-time then -33 points in the second half against Sunbury at the weekend. What does that tell us about the reigning dual Premiers? Their best still remains arguably the best of any, but if you're prepared to bring your A-game, you're a real chance. To say Sunbury made a mess of their opening half on the road against East Point is an understatement. The Lions paltry 2.8-20 scoreline at half-time was grossly inferior to the Kangas 11.10-76. Game - essentially - over. Not even a seven-goals to two second half was enough for Sunbury to compensate for the damage. Cam Lovig and Billy Jones were best-on for the winners as the Kangas savoured the return of star utility Jacob Brown. Inside-mid and contest beast Mickitja Rotumah-Onus did not play. For the Lions, Alec Goodson (three goals) and Dylan Featon were the best of a group in need of more from their top-end if they are to overcome the better sides (like East Point), especially on the road.

Redan (19.12-126) put Ballarat (10.12-72) to the sword in the opening half of Saturday's encounter at City Oval to set up a comfortable 54-point win. Both sides went into their Round Three clash sitting at 1-1 and would have been confident of finishing the day in a positive win-loss position. But it was Redan who got off to a flyer, clearly more mentally prepared than their Swans opponents to lead by 34-points at the first change and then by 50-points at the main break. It was the second week in a row Ballarat has effectively missed the start after a goalless opening term against North Ballarat in Round Two, where they trailed by 23-points. Catch up footy is exhausting and, while competitive in the second half, the Swans were no match for the Lions over the four-quarter journey. While Josh Gibson's Swans debut was put on hold for another week, the Lions welcomed back star midfielder Lachie George with immediate results. Experienced forward Dean Chester (five goals) continued his run of form in front of the big sticks to be among nine Redan goalkickers for the afternoon. Jacob Short, along with George and Cooper Craig-Peters, was named in the best for the winners, while the Swans’ Luke Wynd and Jack Blackburn were acknowledged for their efforts in a losing side. 

For some, Lake Wendouree's (14.15-99) seven-point win over North Ballarat City (13.14-92) was the upset of the round. The Lakers were able to recapture the form from their opening half against East Point in Round Two (led by 19 points) to lead Brendan McCartney's young guns by 15-points. The difference at the half could well have been more given the Lakers had double the scoring shots at the break, with the scoreline sitting at Lakers 7.13-55 vs City 6.4-40. But, unlike the Lakers’ Round Two second-half fade out against the Kangas, they were able to match it with (at the time) the undefeated City in general play and, more importantly, on the scoreboard. Despite marginally losing the second half by eight points, Lakers coach Dale Power would be thrilled his boys found a way to muster back-to-back seven-goal halves to secure the win. For the record, it was the Lakers’ highest score since June 2^nd 2018 (Rd6: 17.13-115 vs Melton South) and only the seventh game in their last 28 to register 10 goals or more. Callum McKay and Flynn Loader booted three goals each for the winners, while seventeen-year-old debutant Josh Rentsch (195cm, 96kg) was named best afield ahead of an in-form Ashley Simpson. For City, youngsters Riley Polkinghorne (best) and Josh Chatfield (four goals) continue to impress.