Albion’s Matthew Davis and Lachlan McGhie contest the ball in the Grand Final rematch on Saturday. 79939 Picture: KRISTIAN SCOTT
By MICHAEL ESPOSITO and LIAM TWOMEY
IF ANYONE claims they predicted some of the margins in the opening round of local footy, they are either lying or they are supremely gifted fortune tellers.
Although Albion’s player departures have been significant, the manner in which the Cats were destroyed by Spotswood in the first round of the Western Region Football League came as a shock.
How many Round 1 grand final re-matches end in a 151-point margin?
Spotswood blew Albion away in the first quarter, kicking eight goals to none, and kept twisting the knife to win 27.13 (175) to 3.6 (24).
Jason Butina battled hard for the Cats, as did Nathan Doherty and Patrick Savage, but the Cats didn’t stand a chance against the might of Spotswood.
It was always shaping up as a tough year for Albion, with the departures of a host of top-tier players including Shaydon Bloomfield, Romain Grenville, Shylo Smith, Marcus Smith and Glenn Manton.
Newly promoted Deer Park stunned St Albans, winning 21.10 (136) to 6.10 (46) on Friday night.
Anyone who thought the Lions need to consolidate in their first year in Division 1 just need to look at that result to see that Deer Park will be a legitimate contender this year.
Altona’s 42-point win against the highly fancied Port Melbourne was very impressive, while Sunshine had a day out against neighbours Sunshine Heights, winning by 165 points.
Macauley Goring booted nine goals and Patrick Wiggins kicked eight in a dominant performance.
Hoppers Crossing took care of North Footscray, 18.1.8 (126) to 13.7 (85).
In the Essendon District Football League, Keilor’s tough start continued on Saturday with the Blues falling 41 points short against Oak Park.
After matching it with the Kangaroos early, Keilor trailed away in the second half, managing just three goals after the main break.
Jarrod Garth was again one of the Blues’ best, kicking four goals in the 14.25 (109) to 10.8 (68) loss.
Keilor has now played last year’s premiers and runners up in its first two rounds of football and will look for some respite against Craigieburn this week.
The Eagles showed off new recruit and former St Kilda tagger Steven Baker on Saturday but it wasn’t enough to overcome a fast finishing Maribyrnong Park.
The Lions have had a number of changes in the off-season but it didn’t seem to matter when the siren rang with the club again looking like it will be a threat this year.
Nathan Black slammed through five goals while Romain Grenville added three to complete the 53-point victory, 13.13 (91) to 5.8 (38).
Maribyrnong will be out for revenge next week when it takes on Greenvale, the side that knocked it out of last year’s finals series.
In Division 2, East Keilor defeated Jacana by 263 points, Hillside beat Roxburgh Park by 72 points, West Coburg beat Taylors Lakes by 27 points and Moonee Valley defeated Keilor Park by 104.
