By Mark Murray
ALBION and Sunshine played out a stunning draw on Saturday at Albion, with the home side producing a remarkable final quarter fight-back to almost pinch the win in the division one WRFL match.
The Kangaroos had been the dominant side all afternoon and led by a commanding 47 points at the last change.
But Albion shocked everyone, including themselves, in the next 30 minutes to storm back into contention.
They continually drove the ball forward, giving their forwards every chance to kick themselves back into the game.
They did so through the boot of Adam Fenton, who was dangerous around goal all day, while Troy Kelm also became lively.
The pair finished with seven goals between them, four to Fenton and three to Kelm.
Brendan Dixon also played a leading role in a stunning resurgence, which saw the scores locked at 103 in the dying stages.
Albion slammed on a brilliant 8.2 to 1.3 to at least salvage two points out of a game that looked lost at three quarter time.
For Sunshine, Adrian Mastropasqua, Jake Trevaskis and Ben Davis were instrumental in setting up its early dominance.
Had they limped over the line, Albion would be sitting in the top five at the expense of St Albans with a superior percentage.
But they are still two points outside the top five with just three rounds to go and a tough match against ladder leader Spotswood this week.
Albion remains in the finals race and would have pencilled in two wins from the next three matches, with the Woodsmen the exception.
They meet bottom-of-the-table Parkside and Yarraville-Seddon in the run home, the latter languishing more than five wins behind Albion.
Meanwhile Spotswood continued its surge towards September with a powerful 59-point win over Hoppers Crossing.
In what many saw as a danger match for the Woodsmen they never looked threatened and cruised to an emphatic victory on the back of a solid team performance.
Cameron Beasley was the star for Spotswood, winning a mountain of the ball. He brought team-mates into the game with his clever ability in tight situations.
Spotswood opened up a 20-point lead at quarter time and by the main break had extended it to a match-winning 51 points.
Parkside recorded its second win of the season with an impressive 30-point victory over Glenorden.
They are desperately trying to avoid the wooden spoon and have given themselves a chance, now level on eight points with Altona.
Port Melbourne put its finals credentials on show with a crushing 114-point demolition of finals hopeful St Albans.
A menacing 12-goal performance from Saul Caddy was the catalyst for the intimidating 24.11.155 to 6.5.41 triumph.
St Albans remain in the top five by half a game after Albion drew with Sunshine.
Altona proved too slick for Yarraville-Seddon, recording a 25-point victory.
