By Mark Gullick
DOVETON produced a solid four-quarter effort to defeat Devon Meadows by 34 points at Robinson Oval, Doveton, in their Casey Cardinia Football League match on Saturday.
The Doves won the opening term by 15 points and increased their lead at every change.
“It was our most convincing win for the year,” Doveton coach Mark Ladgrove said.
Ladgrove was still wary of the winless Panthers.
“With the evenness of the competition, we’re happy to get a win each week,” he said. “We know that reading into the scoreboards, if you’re not on your game week by week, you’re going to miss out.”
The victory holds Doveton comfortably in the top five.
While it was an even performance by the Doves, they received excellent service from several players.
John Atwell continued his stunning start to the year and would have polled numerous Norm Walker medal votes by this stage.
Simon Black was also very impressive.
In difficult conditions, the Doves had a steady target up forward in Peter Pullen, who kicked five goals.
Veteran Ryan Hendy was classy, Clint Wilson was hard at the contest and Scott Dinsdale performed well on the day.
Devon Meadows was led by midfielder Adrian Burns, who had plenty of ball usage, as well as kicking four goals.
Scott Young and Lochlan Burke maintained their strong form, while Lucas Carroll, Michael Bain and Tim Saunders were solid contributors.
@BT Sub Sport News:TOORADIN-DALMORE V HAMPTON PARK
HAMPTON Park maintained its spotless record with a 34-point win over Tooradin-Dalmore in tricky conditions at Tooradin Recreation Reserve.
With the game played in icy cold conditions and a driving wind, it was crucial to get a good start and the Redbacks did just that.
Hampton Park kicked four goals and led by 21 points at the first change and was never headed.
“In the conditions, to win by that margin and have that many scoring shots was a great effort,” Hampton Park coach Clint Evans said. “I said to the boys before the game to get involved early, get a tackle or a bump, rather than just stand around and get cold. It’s harder to get into the game that way. Do something early and get dirty, get some contact so you’re right for the whole game.”
Hampton Park’s bigger bodies shone through in the conditions.
Leigh Morse, Dean Jamieson, livewire Brett Armitage, big man Steve Watson, Brendan Fredericks and veteran Matthew Shorey were prominent.
For Tooradin-Dalmore, Ryan Kitchin played out an interesting contest with Watson in the ruck and held his own.
Michael Hobbs was prominent around the ground, Adam Splatt and Rohan Hyde were steady in defence, and the Keenan brothers, Shaun and Chris, played well.
