FINAL ROUND BEFORE COMPETITION SPLITS

By SAM RICHARDS

In the final weekend before the TIV Under-18 competition is split into two separate divisions, the stakes were higher than ever.

With just percentage separating Spotswood and Flemington Juniors prior to Round 13, the battle for the final spot in the top division, went right down to the wire.

After Spotswood’s loss to Hoppers Crossing 1, a victory over Werribee Districts 2 would mean Flemington Juniors would earn a place in the competition’s first division and that’s what happened, with the Colts defeating the Tigers by 10-points on Sunday.

The win means Flemington will contend in the first division for the remainder of the home and away season, while Spotswood are in Division 2.

Elsewhere, ladder-leaders Altona continued to illustrate their impressive all-round strength, kicking 25 goals, while holding their opponents goalless for the second time in the three weeks.

The Vikings win over Sunshine was set up by a strong first half (71- 0), before a 10-goal final quarter put the finishing touches on what was an impressive percentage boosting performance.

For the 11-1 side, Colby Redpath played one of his best games of the season, while Silver Yousif (4 goals), Christian Verdino (4 goals) and Kyle Crooks (3 goals) kicked 11 goals between them.

Fourth-placed Caroline Springs won big, with a 26.13 (169) to 0.2 (2), 167-point victory over Hoppers Crossing 2.

After a slow first quarter, the Lakers potent forward line eventually overwhelmed a fading Warriors defence, kicking 23 goals over the final 3 quarters.

The Lakers had 17 different goal kickers in what was the ultimate team performance.

In what appeared to be the theme of Round 13, Werribee Districts became the third top-four side to win by over 20 goals, with 150-point home victory over St Albans.

Darcy Phillips starred with 7 goals, while Luke Tarola and Jordan Riazati (4 goals) impacted the contest strongly.