By JARROD POTTER
Southern Football League – Round 1
“WORK hard. Work hard. Work hard.”
A simple, impassioned plea from Keysborough coach Ryan Goodes delivered to his Burra battlers seemed to pay off as the visitors claimed a 27-point triumph over Doveton Eagles.
Their first match in SFL Division 2 was no walk in the park for the Burra, as the Eagles knocked them around throughout a back-and-forth second half.
Heading into the final break four-points down, following a three-goal run by Doveton Eagles before the last break, Goodes roared at his charges in the huddle to knuckle down and hit the scoreboard.
After a beautiful snap around the body from Geoff Humphreys – who starred all afternoon through the midfield – pushed Keysborough back ahead, the Eagles rallied one last time through hard-marking forward Sasha Danilovic (three goals) to regain the lead.
Goodes pushed himself down back and played as the third-man up across half-back and found able support streaming the ball out of defence from Matt Burnett and Luke Damato.
The Burra seized back the advantage after Humphreys hit up Jake Dunn (three goals) lace out before Tyson King (four goals) lived up to his moniker, making the hard work seem regal in a starring forward performance.
Kicking the last four goals, Keysborough emphatically finished off its first SFL match in style to kick away 16.14 (110) to Doveton Eagles’ 13.5 (85).
Goodes was pleased to see a plethora of Burra wins on Saturday as the reserves and thirds also notched wins.
“I didn’t think we were playing the way we wanted to play – that’s not the sort of coach I am, but sometimes they need to get going and at the end of the day it worked,” Goodes said.
“It’s not only really good for the ones to win, but to have three senior teams (win) – six months ago we couldn’t get anyone down to watch Keysy footy.
“But the supporter base here now, with 60 blokes on the track and three teams that came away with a win, that’s an achievement in itself.”
The Eagles were well led by Corrie Wilson (four goals), Rob Kreskas and Enayte Samadi.
Keysborough has its first home match in the SFL as it takes on Murrumbeena while Doveton Eagles head to Caulfield.
In the other Division-2 result, a new-look Springvale Districts held off a very wayward Highett by eight points. Spraying 19 behinds, the Bulldogs had no one but themselves to blame as the Demons -led by spearhead recruit James Gough (three goals) charged ahead to take the victory. Districts face Oakleigh Districts at home this weekend.
DIVISION 3
Stellar starts for Lyndale and Endeavour Hills following their cross-town victories over Dandenong and Sandown respectively.
The Pumas had all the answers after half-time, keeping the Redlegs to two-goals-six while thumping home six of their own to take the comfortable 43-point victory. Mohammad Babar (four goals) led the scores while Damien Wilsnach and Veton Rexha were the best Pumas afield. Anthony Salomon and Josh Cole were the Redlegs’ finest in the defeat.
Endeavour Hills brushed aside Sandown in a 20-point win at Barry Simon Reserve. Mitch Whatman and Shane Peake (three goals) proved prominent up forward while Alex Carroll and Nathan Strom led all comers. Ciaran O’Shaughnessy (two goals) was also best afield for the Cobras alongside Benjamin Davis.
