Matthew Towner was part of a solid Maribyrnong backline that let through only 10 goals the whole day. 64035 Picture: SARAH MATRAY
By Liam Twomey
A BLISTERING first quarter allowed Maribyrnong Park to defeat Aberfeldie by 45 points in the Essendon and District Football League on Saturday.
The clash was like an early elimination final designed to whet the appetites of A Grade supporters.
A win would see Maribyrnong Park clinch a finals spot but a loss would leave the door open for it to be dumped from the top four in the final round.
From the start it was clear the Lions had brought their best form. They slammed on eight goals and had 13 scoring shots in the first quarter, dominating the contest all over the ground.
Aberfeldie looked dangerous when it got the ball into its forward 50 but those moments were few and far between as the Lions opened up a 33-point lead at the first break.
Maribyrnong coach Craig Clinnick was impressed with his team’s start.
“We have put a massive emphasis on our starts the past three weeks and today that was great,” Clinnick said.
When play resumed Aberfeldie began to show glimpses of why it has been considered a premiership contender throughout the year.
It managed three consecutive goals to close the margin to under five goals.
Maribyrnong regained its composure as the quarter progressed and once again kicked multiple goals to snuff out the Aberfeldie challenge.
Fifteen-year-old Touk Miller was
proving more than a headache for Aberfeldie, kicking a goal in the lead-up to half-time and working hard across the ground.
“Touk has now played four A Grade games of footy. Unfortunately for him the under-16s were knocked out of the finals in the prelim last week,” Clinnick said.
“He has come off All-Australian selection, he was vice-captain of the All-Australian team and he was best on ground in the under-15 national grand final.
“He deserves his spot and he contributed well today.”
The Maribyrnong side that has struggled at times during the EDFL season was a distant memory in the second half, as it finished the game out strongly to seal the 16.15 (111) to 10.6 (66) win.
“Aberfeldie celebrated pretty hard after they beat us last time and that was left in our gut. It hurt us, we were pretty wounded from that and we didn’t really get back on track for four weeks,” Clinnick said.
“We put a lot of planning into this game in terms of eliminating their most influential players. They are a little undermanned at the minute but we had to win and we won well.
“We have been playing our best footy in patches for probably four weeks. We have won four quarters for three weeks in a row and that’s all you can ask of the planning group.
“We are still getting better and we are building towards where we want to be in the coming weeks.”
The Lions still have a number of injured stars waiting to get back on the field but time is running out with just one round to go before finals.
“I haven’t spoken about injuries all year. We’ve used 50 players this year and that’s more than any other team in the top eight,” Clinnick said.
“A lot of guys have had an opportunity to play A Grade footy with this team and from my view point, if you’re not in the team now you’re going to have to work hard to get in it.
“Irrespective of reputation you are going to have to work hard to get into the side.”
The Lions will take on Keilor next week and will be out to get revenge after the Blues upset them when the teams last met.
“We are still getting better and we are building towards where we want to be in the coming weeks,” Clinnick said.
In other A Grade results, Keilor continued its late-season run of form with a convincing 58-point win over Doutta Stars.
Matthew Pearce was named best on ground for the Blues in the 18.22 (130) to 11.6 (72) win.
Taylors Lakes’ poor season continued as it went down by 161 points to Oak Park, 30.21 (201) to 5.10 (40).
