Author: Toe Punt

PENINSULA LEAGUE FRANKSTON YCW is slowly sucking the life out of Peninsula Division football after disposing of yet another premiership aspirant on Saturday in Mornington. The game started in tight fashion but the home side gained the ascendancy midway through the second quarter and collectively pushed their feet on the throats of their opponent for the entire second half, eventually winning 17.12 (114) to 7.7 (49). The Stonecats opened up a 17-point break at half time after trailing by the smallest of margins at the first change. The lead should have been so much more than three goals at half…

NEPEAN LEAGUE THE scene has been set for an explosive final round of Nepean League football after the completion of round 15 on Saturday. There were two significant results to keep an eye on over the weekend – the outcome of Rye v Somerville and the result of Frankston v Red Hill. Red Hill was working towards getting the points away to the Bombers while also hoping that Rye could beat Somerville. Had that been the case, Red Hill would have taken Somerville’s place in the top five. Whilst Red Hill held up its end of the bargain, smashing the…

NEPEAN LEAGUE DROMANA caused the upset of the season on Saturday in Nepean League, leading all afternoon to beat Rye by 11 points. At one stage in the third quarter, the Tigers led by as much as 51 points. It’s been a tough year for the Tigers but they have continuously proved that their best is good enough to match it with the best in the competition. On Saturday at Dromana Recreation Reserve, they jumped the Demons and led by 11 points at quarter time and 10 points at the main change. Billy Quigley was a real handful for the…

PENINSULA LEAGUE FRANKSTON YCW flexed its muscles on Saturday in the Peninsula League match of the round, thumping Edithvale-Aspendale by almost 100 points. The Eagles came into the game having won five games on the trot, including against top five teams Pines and Mornington. However, at no stage was the home team in the match against the Stonecats. They were held goalless in the first and third quarters, eventually going down 19.16 (130) to 6.3 (39). The Eagles weren’t helped by the fact they were missing prime mover Tim Mavric and ruckman Aaron Pawel. The lack of a ruckman meant…

PENINSULA LEAGUE EDITHVALE-ASPENDALE is coming and are looking ominous after blowing Mornington away by more than five goals on Saturday. Edithvale started well and led by 11 points at quarter time and nine points at the major interval. However, it was the seven goal to one third term that set-up the 14.13 (97) to 8.17 (65) victory. Edithvale-Aspendale, as we well know, is hard to stop when its confidence is up. One could argue that the Eagles’ draw has been relatively soft over the past five weeks, however, it’s hard to argue with five wins on the trot. Three of…

NEPEAN LEAGUE RED HILL kept its finals chances alive with a gutsy four-quarter performance against Hastings on Saturday at Thomas Barclay Reserve. Whilst the Hillmen continued its push towards finals, Hastings let slip an opportunity to break away from other sides vying for a top three position. The Hillmen were too strong over four quarters, winning comfortably 14.8 (92) to 10.5 (65). It was Red Hill’s best win of the season. It was the stars who shone yet again for the Hillmen, but it was teenage defender Jonah Siverson who really stood out playing in the back half. Siverson has…

THE terms champion, superstar and legend are thrown around way too flippantly in footy circles. A player does a couple of special things and he is a ‘superstar’. Kicks a bag of goals a couple of weeks in a row and he’s a ‘champion’. Champion, superstar and legend are powerful terms in our great game – to be fair, there’s not a hell of a lot of them. However, there’s at least one MPNFL player who sits very comfortably across all three categories – Guy Stringer. On the weekend against Tyabb, Guy Stringer became the first player to reach the…

PENINSULA LEAGUE PINES has dropped to fifth place on the ladder after losing a high quality game against Mornington at Eric Bell Reserve on Saturday. In a thrilling contest, the match was played in two halves. Pines booted 16 of its 18 goals in the first and third quarters while Mornington booted 18 of its 20 goals in the second and final terms. Suffice to say that it was the wind that won on the day. In the end though, despite playing away from home, the Doggies proved too strong, winning 20.11 (131) to 18.8 (116). Mornington were 43 points…

NEPEAN LEAGUE GUY Stringer celebrated his 400th game against on Saturday with five goals and a best on ground performance against Tyabb. Stringer, suffering from a torn bicep which he carried into the milestone game, booted his first of five goals at the nine minute mark of the first quarter. He dominated at centre half forward while fellow forwards Myles Pitt and Leigh Poholke booted 10 and seven goals respectively. Tyrren Head continued his sensational season while Leigh Treeby absolutely ensured that he was at his best for Stringer’s big game. Stringer will now miss the rest of the season…

PENINSULA LEAGUE EDITHVALE-ASPENDALE proved that it cannot be discounted in the race for the Peninsula League premiership after thrashing Pines by 72 points in Saturday. The Eagles were relentless from the first bounce, opening-up a three goal break at quarter time before smashing seven goals to four in the second quarter to open-up a 36-point break. The home side was unrelenting in the second half also, booting four goals to one in the third and six goals to two in the last, eventually winning 24.11 (155) to 11.17 (83). You could sense the week before against Langwarrin that the Eagles…

NEPEAN LEAGUE RED Hill has been knocked out of the top five after going down to Rye on Saturday. The Hillmen were blown away in the third quarter by a much-improved Rye outfit and were never able to recover, going down 16.4 (100) to 11.10 (76). Red Hill’s place in the top bracket has been snatched by Sorrento, who led all day to beat top of the table Rosebud. Rye’s three big guns in Nathan Henley, Kris Bardon and Ryan Mullett were superb for the Demons on Saturday, responding to criticism that they, along with some of their teammates, were…

NEPEAN LEAGUE PEARCEDALE leapfrogged Crib Point on the MPNFL Nepean Division ladder on Saturday after coming from behind to earn a 17 point victory. The Magpies, who played in a grand final against Sorrento last year, are now second bottom on the ladder with just two wins for the season. The Pies led by 18 points at three quarter time on Saturday after booting six goals to one in the third, however, couldn’t sustain the momentum in the last. Pearcedale, through the likes of Michael Williams, who played his best game for the season with four goals, snagged five goals…

THE AFL South East Commission official took over the MPNFL in a caretaker role last week after the clubs voted at a Special General Meeting. Following a notice of “no-confidence” and the subsequent resignation of the entire MPNFL Board last week, member clubs approved a motion put forward to install the AFL South East Commission as the league’s caretaker governing body until the next Annual General Meeting. Member clubs also approved motions directing the commission to undertake immediate reviews into the governance, administration, finances and rules of the MPNFL. The respective reviews, due for completion by early October 2015, will…

PENINSULA LEAGUE LANGWARRIN’S season came to an end in MPNFL Peninsula Division football on Saturday when it was beaten by Edithvale-Aspendale in a thriller. The Kangas (sixth) are now two games behind the Eagles (fifth) and need to produce a miracle in the final seven games of the year to make finals. The reality is that the Kangaroos don’t deserve to play finals. The opportunity was there before them on Saturday and they blew it. Despite having 10 more clearances and eight more inside 50m entries, the home side trailed for the majority of the afternoon. Langwarrin led by seven…

PENINSULA LEAGUE IT’S not very often that any individual is bigger than the game of AFL football. And rarely do we see it where the player is viewed so highly that he is placed before the club. However, every now and again, it’s important to stop and recognise the contributions and impact that individuals have made on your football club. On Saturday, the footy public stopped for arguably the best centre half back of the past 20-plus years in Luke Van Raay. The Karingal Football Club star ran out onto the ground for his beloved red and white for the…

THE MPNFL board collectively resigned late last week after 19 of 22 MPNFL Peninsula and Nepean clubs expressed a vote of no confidence. AFL South East immediately took over as caretaker of the league, providing the function of the board under MPNFL Rules until the finalisation of a review into the appropriate governance and administrative model for the league for the future. At this stage, the current administration will continue to manage the day-to-day operations of the competition. AFL South East General Manager Jeremy Bourke said it was “highly unlikely” that there would be any changes to the structure of…

NEPEAN LEAGUE RYE cannot win this season’s Nepean League premiership playing the brand of football that it is currently. That became obvious on Saturday when it was humiliated by one of the best sides in the competition in Somerville. The Eagles led by as much as almost 70-odd points midway through the last quarter before Rye booted the final four goals of the game to add some respectability to the final score line, 19.17 (131) to 13.6 (84). Truth of the matter is that Rye is a one-way running side. Unless you have enormous talent across all 22 players and…

PENINSULA LEAGUE MT ELIZA has an enormous amount of work to do if it is going to win that elusive Peninsula League premiership in 2015 after a poor showing against Frankston YCW on Saturday. It was billed as the match of the season. Fact is, it was an absolute fizzer. The ball spent more than 70 per cent of the game in the Stonecats’ front half of the ground and 37 scoring shots to 20 was a reasonable tale of the afternoon. The home side had 60 inside 50m entries to the opposition’s 31, while boasting 33 clearances to 17.…

MORNINGTON Peninsula Nepean Football League is about to face its biggest change in the history of the competition. Last Friday night (June 26), Peninsula League clubs supported the Nepean League clubs and issued the MPNFL Board with a ‘Notice of No Confidence’. There were eight of the 10 Peninsula League clubs who supported the vote of no confidence with both Mt Eliza and Frankston YCW not supporting the motion. Between the competitions, 19 of the 22 clubs (Somerville abstained from the vote) have demanded change. They only needed support of 75 per cent of clubs. A Special General Meeting will…

NEPEAN LEAGUE ROSEBUD proved once and for all on Saturday that it is right in the mix for the 2015 Nepean League premiership. In the match of the round, the Buds opened up an early break and despite Hastings getting within ten points late in the clash, the home side was able to put on the afterburners and boot five goals to two in the last to win 17.15 (117) to 11.11 (77). The Buds have now won six matches on the trot, their only losses coming at the hands of Rye in the opening game of the season and…

By ANDREW ‘TOE PUNT’ KELLY NEPEAN League presidents have called for the immediate resignation of the Mornington Peninsula Nepean Football League board. Sorrento Football Club president Garry Woodhams sent an email on behalf of all Nepean league clubs to MPNFL Board chairman Stuart Gilchrist last Friday afternoon (19 June), together with a notice of no confidence, which was signed by 11 of the 12 Nepean League clubs. Somerville abstained from the vote, given recent events over the Player Points System (PPS) debacle (‘League ‘misled’ Somerville, results in doubt’, The News 9/6/15). Presidents and delegates of all clubs of the Nepean…

NEPEAN LEAGUE TYABB lost its second game in successive weeks by more than 200 points on Saturday in Nepean League, this time at the hands of Rye. The Yabbies booted one goal in the opening quarter and were restricted to just two behinds for the remainder of the match. Hastings too booted 38 goals last week against Tyabb and won by more than 200 points. This week Rye booted 18 goals in the opening half and 20 majors in the second hour to record a 38.20 (248) to 1.2 (8) win. The recent plight of Tyabb FC has been well…

PENINSULA LEAGUE FORMER West Coast Eagle, North Melbourne and Richmond forward Aaron Edwards played one of the most impressive games in Peninsula League memory on Saturday as Pines ended Chelsea’s season. Edwards had close to 40 possessions, took more than 15 marks, booted seven goals and was clearly head and shoulders above any other player on the ground in the Pythons’ 18.9 (117) to 8.17 (65) win over Chelsea. Edwards, who was the last player to kick 100 goals in the VFL at Frankston Dolphins before he was drafted to the Eagles, had as many possessions in the back half…

NEPEAN LEAGUE RED Hill has dropped to fourth place on the ladder after losing its third game in succession in embarrassing fashion on Saturday. For the second match in a row, Red Hill failed to score in the second and third quarters after leading at quarter time. That means that the Hillmen have failed to hit the scoreboard in four of its past six quarters. Red Hill kicked a goal after the quarter time siren through a ripper from Benny McGuiness on the boundary line to give the visitors a 4.3 (27) to 1.5 (11) lead. However, the Hillmen didn’t…

THREE weeks after going into hiding over the bungled Play Points System (PPS), the Mornington Peninsula Football League has finally apologised. In a statement sent by league CEO Jeff Jones on Saturday afternoon, the league “acknowledge that the ruling made in relation to David Hirst was incorrect and apologise for the mistake that has been made at the MPNFL Administration level with the Player Points System. We further extended our apologies to the player, the clubs and their committees”. The statement also tried to clarify the ruling that was handed down by the Independent Tribunal. The statement read: Section 6…

PENINSULA LEAGUE LANGWARRIN lost its second game on the trot by less than a kick after it went down to Mornington by one point on Saturday. Leading by eight points at half time and seven points at three quarter time, the Kangas gave up the lead in the last quarter before regaining it midway through the term. Both the Dogs and Kangas traded goals at the close of the quarter before Mornington full back Adam Symes was sent forward and became the difference between the sides. The Dogs won 11.7 (73) to 11.6 (72). Langwarrin coach Gavin Artico said that…

PENINSULA LEAGUE CHELSEA came back from nowhere to record a thrilling two-point victory against Langwarrin on Saturday in Peninsula League Football. Looking down the barrel midway through the last quarter and trailing by three goals, Chelsea kicked five unanswered goals to wrestle back the lead and open-up a 10-point lead at the 27-minute mark of the quarter. Hudson Thomas, who finished the game with four goals for the Gulls and was arguably one of the best players on the ground, put his side in front before Jayden Attard extended the lead with five minutes left in the game. Langwarrin then…

THE MPNFL-appointed Independent Tribunal handed down its Somerville Players Points System verdict last Thursday night as promised, but the league failed to pass that information onto clubs. The panel members – Geoff Dempster (Northern Football League Board Member, former member of the AFL Community Football Board), Bob Beazley (MPNFL PPS Implementation Working Party member) and Andrew Swales (Independent Tribunal Chairman) – met as communicated with Nepean League clubs on Thursday night. At this meeting, the tribunal determined that Somerville coach David Hirst was a two point player, not a one point player. It is understood that the league had advised…

NEPEAN LEAGUE Speccy-tacular: Red Hill went down to Dromana in Sunday’s Nepean League game despite this marvellous mark. Final score Dromana 9.15 (69) to Red Hill 7.6 (48). Pictures: Andrew Hurst RYE came from 17 points down at three quarter time to beat Sorrento by the smallest of margins in Nepean League football on Saturday. In front of a massive crowd that pushed beyond 3000 people, Toby Woodford copped a head high tackle with less than a minute on the clock and went back and kicked the goal from 20 metres out to seal the win for Rye 12.12 (84)…

PENINSULA LEAGUE WITH two minutes left on the clock on Saturday, Pines was six points in front of Bonbeach and looked like they were going to hold on for the win. A Pines kick across the body towards the new clubrooms end pushed across the face of goal and gave back possession of the footy to Bonbeach. The Sharks moved the ball quickly to the far end of Bonbeach Recreation Reserve and again Pines were able to cause a stoppage. With just seconds left in the game, the ball was thrown up inside attacking 50 for the Sharks. Paul Lewis,…