By Blair Burns
Caulfield Bears recorded their second consecutive win in Division 2 of the Southern League as they smashed Doveton by 66 points at Robinson Reserve.
After losing their first three matches, the Bears have bounced back and the inclusion of ex-Collingwood footballer and coach Lynden Dunn, who has been suspended for the past month, was huge for the side.
Dunn kicked nine goals in the victory, as Caulfield piled on the scoreboard damage to win big and boost their percentage significantly, while the Doves are now sitting last on the ladder by percentage.
Doveton coach Matt Stapleton said the performance was not good enough, adding that there was a lot of hard work to be done.
“The scoreline is not how we want it to look, two weeks in a row we’ve had a first-quarter performance that isn’t up to expected standard,” he said.
“Our effort and work rate wasn’t at the level which is required; not too many times throughout the last year and a bit have we had to question our effort, but that was the case on the weekend.”
It has been a season of mixed results for the Doves who started season 2025 with high hopes after bowing out in a preliminary final last season.
They were smashed by Hampton Park in Round 1 by 120 points, but bounced back to win their next two matches against Endeavour Hills (17 points) and Mordialloc (10 points).
However, Doveton has now dropped its past two matches by a combined 123 points as Frankston Dolphins and Caulfield Bears have torn them apart.
It was a hot start for the Bears which ultimately set up the victory and the scoreboard read 38-8 at quarter time, which was extended to 81-33 at the main break.
“Our poor starts are something that we have identified and we are trying to put things in place to fix them up, we’ve got to keep working to improve those starts,” Stapleton said.
“Over the past couple weeks and when we lost the game in Round 1, it has been much the same and seems to have become a bit of habit, we will be doing everything we can to address it.”
Stapleton and his Doves teammates know that the inconsistency they have shown across the first five games will not get them to the promised land.
“Those losses certainly give you the feedback, that you need to improve and perform more consistently throughout matches, so it’s a big challenge this week,” he said.
“Anyone can beat anyone on their day in this competition and I think it just comes down to who wants to work the hardest and who executes the best.
“We are certainly not happy with the games we have lost and the amount we have lost those games by, so it’s something we need to assess and fix.”
Dunn was running rampant in the forward line and giving the Doves defenders all sorts of headaches.
“The ball was flowing down there pretty easily in the first quarter, they got six goals and he would’ve got four or five of them,” Stapleton said.
“He has played plenty of AFL footy and has plenty of experience so was definitely a tough match-up for us.”
Sean Semmens (three goals) and Jake Calvert (two goals) were the main scorers for the Doves.
Calvert has been a shining light for the side this season having kicked 13 goals across the first five games, eight more than his next teammate.
“Sean was good hitting the scoreboard and kicking three goals for us, Matt Parker was great in the ruck, providing a contest in the air and on ground level all day,” Stapleton said.
“One of our younger players Will Kerr also had a very solid game and we hope he can keep improving each week.”
Chelsea Heights is the challenge in front of the Doves this Saturday as they travel to Beazley Reserve to try and exorcise the Demons, who are coming off an 81-point victory against Endeavour Hills.
“They have hit some form, we need to go down there and focus on implementing the things we work on during the week,” Stapleton said.
“Tuesdays and Thursdays are there for a reason and if we’re not willing to get there and work hard, then we won’t improve, it’s a pretty simple message.
“Proof will be in the pudding from our perspective, but we’ve just got to get back to working hard and executing the basics well, if we can do that, the results should look after themselves.”
Harley Primrose was also impressive for Doveton, while it was the usual suspects winning the ball for Caulfield in Michael Casey and skipper Nick Schumann.
In other games across Division 2, Hampton Park snapped a two-game losing streak and passed it onto East Malvern who will look to bounce back next week.
The Redbacks trailed all day before stealing the lead in a huge fourth quarter, as Mason Hawkins dominated the ruck battle and led his side to victory.
After losing its first two matches, Highett has bounced back with three straight victories as it smashed Keysborough on the weekend to the tune of 75 points, with 12 individual goal scorers contributing.
The Bulldogs are in the in-form team of the competition and have sunk some serious contenders in the recent month, and will look to continue their run against Caulfield Bears this weekend.
It also must be mentioned that Kyden Vella kicked five of his team’s six goals on the day, the young gun has had a huge start to the year with 13 goals to his name.
Mordialloc trailed 39-12 at quarter time of its clash against Frankston Dolphins, but the Bloods bounced back in the second quarter kicking 7.3 to 2.1 to get back in the game, before running away to win.
There was a spectacular show at each end as key forwards Caoimhin O’Donnell (Mordialloc) and Taylor Stratton (Frankston Dolphins) went goal for goal.
O’ Donnell ended up with seven goals to his name and got his side over the line, being named as the best player, while Stratton kicked five and was the Dolphins’ best player in the loss.
In the final match of the round, Chelsea Heights put Endeavour Hills to the sword and despite the Falcons matching them for the first quarter, the rest of the game was a different story.
Jesse Murphy (four goals) led the way for the Demons, while six other teammates kicked multiple goals on the day.
The Division 2 competition will go ahead this weekend as normal while the Division 1 competition has a league bye for the interleague clash against Western Football Netball League.
SOUTHERN DIVISION 2
DOVETON DOVES 1.2 5.3 7.5 8.6 (54)
CAULFIELD BEARS 6.2 13.3 16.4 19.6 (120)
Doveton Doves Goals: Shaun Semmens 3, Jake Calvert 2, Jake Ingaliso, Matthew Johnston, Justyn Kennewell. Best: Matt Parker, Will Kerr, Harley Primrose, Hayden Spierings, Jake Ingaliso, Matt Stapleton.
Caulfield Bears Goals: Lynden Dunn 9, Jye Lewis, Jake McLardy 3, Brett Crane 2, Saul Giblin, Nick Schumann. Best: Lynden Dunn, Michael Casey, Nick Schumann, Jye Lewis, Saul Giblin, Zak Wilson.
EAST MALVERN 4.2 5.6 8.9 9.12 (66)
HAMPTON PARK 2.2 4.3 7.4 12.5 (77)
East Malvern Goals: Angus Cameron 3, Isaac Morrisby 2, Charles Hamilton, Lachlan Harris, Charlie McGaw, Miller Synman. Best: Charles Hamilton, Dwayne Darcy, Angus Cameron, Lachlan Harris, Adam Collinson, Jesse Smith.
Hampton Park Goals: Declan Brunell, Liam Scott 3, Jackson Dalton 2, Makaio Haywood, Deki Sember, Trent Thomas, Myles Wareham. Best: Mason Hawkins, Jye King, Makaio Haywood, Declan Brunell, Liam Scott, Trent Thomas.
KEYSBOROUGH 2.1 3.1 4.2 6.3 (39)
HIGHETT 1.4 6.8 11.10 17.12 (114)
Keysborough Goals: Kyden Vella 5, Joseph Bekierz. Best: Kyden Vella, Ethan Damato, Phillip Ilic.
Highett Goals: Ben Kenny 3, Jacob Apted, Yael Hoorman, Rhys Wilkinson 2, Reginald Becherer, Thomas Carroll, Brent Dyall, Luca Guida, Mitch Hoar, Sam Jackson, Sam Merrick, Yianni Pasialis. Best: Max Jackson, Jacob Apted, Yael Hoorman, Brent Dyall, Joshua O’Neill, Thomas Carroll.
ENDEAVOUR HILLS 3.3 5.3 7.5 7.5 (47)
CHELSEA HEIGHTS 3.5 9.8 14.11 19.14 (128)
Endeavour Hills Goals: Kansas Varker 2, Jacob Daly, Mitchell Grant, Devlyn Hasler, Sam McLean, Luke Peters. Best: Liam Hasler, Shaun Richards, Sam McLean, James Archer, Baron Grant, Ben Swift.
Chelsea Heights Goals: Jesse Murphy 4, Jordan Peryman 3, Max Cavanagh, Luke Clark, Liam Frazer, Josh Stolp, Luke Tapscott 2, Luke Smith, Zac Vaughan. Best: Jordan Peryman, Luke Tapscott, Luke Smith, Max Cavanagh, Sebastian Mooney.
OTHER GAMES: Mordialloc 14.8 (92) def Frankston Dolphins 13.7 (85).
LADDER: Hampton Park, East Malvern, Frankston Dolphins, Highett, Mordialloc 12, Chelsea Heights, Caulfield Bears, Endeavour Hills, Keysborough, Doveton Doves 8.
FIXTURE: Chelsea Heights (6) v Doveton Doves (10), Frankston Dolphins (3) v East Malvern (2), Highett (4) v Caulfield Bears (7), Keysborough (9) v Endeavour Hills (8), Hampton Park (1) v Mordialloc (5).
