Cranbourne will need to come home with a miraculous final six games and require other results to go its way if it is to avoid the dreaded relegation.
It was always going to be a tough ask against second-placed St Paul’s McKinnon and despite the team’s best efforts, the Eagles fell 13 points short.
They did a lot right and won three of the quarters, but a bad patch and poor skill execution in the second term proved costly.
The Bulldogs scored 40 points in the second quarter as the floodgates opened, much like last time the sides met, and Cranbourne managed just one goal in reply.
The Eagles fought back and despite being without forward Kyle Lanham, they managed to get back within eight points, nine minutes into the final term.
But a goal from St Paul’s McKinnon star Sam Hilton-Joyce late in the quarter sealed the game as the Bulldogs won their ninth match of the season.
“We had a go but we just made too many mistakes with ball in hand; that 10-minute patch in the second quarter where they kicked five or six goals was probably the difference in the end,” coach Angelo Soldatos said.
“They are good St Paul’s, they move the ball well and you can’t give them uncontested marks and let them march the ball up the ground, which is what we did.”
Cranbourne welcomed Frankston star Corey Ellison for the clash who enjoyed the weekend off his VFL duties to kick three goals.
Despite strong performances from Zak Roscoe (24 disposals, one goal) and Dillan Bass (20 disposals, five marks), Cranbourne fell short at the final siren.
The loss takes the team’s season record to 2-10 in what has been a baptism of fire for Soldatos in his first senior coaching role.
“We don’t feel like we are that bad, but the ladder is what it is, so we’ve got to find ways to get some wins on the board,” he said.
“We have been super competitive; we just haven’t found ways to win.”
Soldatos is correct in his assessment; six of Cranbourne’s losses in 2025 have come by just 25 points or less, with plenty of missed opportunities.
The next three matches are all must-win games for the Eagles, as they take on Bentleigh (fourth), Murrumbeena (ninth) and Port Melbourne (eighth).
“They are critical for us, we have put ourselves in a position now where there is literally zero wriggle room, we need to win more than we lose in the run home to be safe,” Soldatos said.
CRANBOURNE 2.4 3.7 6.9 7.12(54)
ST PAUL’S MCKINNON 2.0 8.4 9.5 10.7(67)
Cranbourne Goals: Corey Ellison 3, Ryan Jones 2, Matt Alister, Zak Roscoe.
St Paul’s McKinnon Goals: Brayden O’Toole, Judd Rowell 3, Thomas Hofert, Matthew Kreymborg, Jack McCartney, Sam Hilton-Joyce.
Best: Matthew Kreymborg, Jack McCartney, Will McCartney, Ash Munday, Jack Cackett, Thomas Hofert.
