SUNSHINE’S BIG WIN, ALTONA IMPRESS
By NICK BOYLAN
It was a round full of dominant performances in RAMS Division 1 football, with one of those being Sunshine’s 138-point victory over a winless Albion.
The Kangaroos started well, finding space all over the ground, but were kicking into a strong breeze, causing wayward scoring efforts. Both Daniel Castellano and Ben Mcinneny looked lively up forward for the Kangaroos, but were unable to turn their strong play into major scores.
Albion were showing plenty of hardness around the contest, punishing the Sunshine mistakes to only trail by seven points going into quarter-time.
Kangaroos coach Adam Contessa wasn’t happy with his side’s lack of two-way running and hardness around the contest, combined with some overusing of the football. Reinforcing that when they had “opened up the game, it’s looked good”, Sunshine came out in the second quarter following Contessa’s words and started to put on a clinic.
Castellano and Fabian Brancatisano started to put significant pressure on the Albion defenders, scoring at will. Sunshine ruckman Declan Moloney continued to give hive his midfielders first use, as the Kangaroos poured on a 15-goal quarter to have an 85-point lead at half time.
Despite the heavy margin facing them, it was Albion who dominated the third term, coming out strong in the contest and having Jason Butina cause headaches up forward. Sunshine couldn’t take their chances going into the breeze, and it was the home side who continued their pressure. Christopher Tomazos kicked two of Albion’s four goals of the quarter, both proving match highlights.
The first was a slick pick up and banana from almost 50 metres out, getting the crowd involved. Second, Tomazos collected the ball on the right boundary and kicked a brilliant dribbling check side goal which brought even further applause from the Albion fans. Sunshine now only led by 65-points at the last change.
Contessa and Sunshine were devastated at their efforts during the goalless quarter, with Moloney making known at the three-quarter time huddle that their effort simply wasn’t good enough. The Kangaroos responded in strong fashion, with Samuel Lucas and Harrison Minett helping Sunshine dominate the last term 12 goals to zero, sealing a dominant win.
In the other action of the round, Altona continued their strong start to the season, with a comfortable 54-point win over Caroline Springs. Steven Kennedy and Kevin Johnson put together terrific displays for the Vikings. Next week Altona will look to keep the pressure on ladder leaders Deer Park, trailing only by 6.28 percent, when they travel to Sunshine. Caroline Springs will hope to bounce back when they host Hoppers Crossing.
The Warriors will be full of run against the Lakers, as they took care of Point Cook by 142-points this week. Brenton Payne was fantastic for Hoppers Crossing, kicking seven goals, while Daniel Strnak added six of his own. Point Cook will be hoping to record their second win of the season next week when they take on Werribee Districts.
Spotswood rebounded from last week’s tough loss as they defeated St Albans in a comfortable 54-point win. Steven O’Bryan and Gareth Newton both kicked four goals, while James Beilby dominated across the game.
http://www.wrfl.com.au/gallery/2019-rd-6-spotswood-v-st-albans-local-legends-photography/
Ben Said kept up his impressive scoring season in the loss, with the St Albans forward kicking five goals. Spotswood travel to Deer Park in a first versus third clash, while St Albans will host the winless Albion.
In the final game of the round, Deer Park sent a strong reminder to Division 1 why they’re the reigning premiers, with a dominant 50-point win over a strong Werribee Districts side.
Scott Greenhough impressed for Deer Park, along with Jase Perkins who kicked another haul of five goals for the victors.
http://www.wrfl.com.au/gallery/2019-rd-6-altona-v-caroline-springs-local-legends-photography/