Raiders take care of Blues

Old Paradians returned the Heidelberg Golf Club Division 3 winners list in a big way, defeating Kilmore by 56 points to go one step closer to securing a double chance finish.

No goals were kicked in the opening term from any side, but after slowly building their lead throughout the match, a six-goal final quarter from the Raiders solidified the 12.16 (88) to 4.8 (32) triumph

With Mernda’s defeat to Kinglake, Old Paradians returned to second spot with the victory and have put themselves in a good position to finish in the top three by season’s end, while also keeping in touch the top of the table Fitzroy Stars.

Meanwhile, the Blues find themselves eight points behind fifth placed Epping, but do have a game in hand, which gives them a slight opportunity to still push for a finals spot.

Sam Gilmore and Kyle O’Sullivan were excellent again for the home side, continuing their terrific campaigns as a ruck-midfielder combination.

Lachie Kerr kicked three goals, taking his streak of multiple majors in a game to five matches, while Blair Healy also booted three goals in his return after missing last week.

Kye Maher was a standout for Kilmore, while captain Michael Marrett showcased some solid moments throughout the afternoon.

Despite sunny conditions greeting the two teams, the opening term would see no goals kicked between either side. The match was mainly being played between the two arcs with multiple stoppages limiting any team’s ability to generate run and carry.

The only three scores of the quarter came from the visiting Blues, two of which coming from set shot misses in the final five minutes of the term.

Kilmore went into the first break ahead by those three behinds, but their small chances in the first quarter turned into greater opportunities in the second term, as three minutes in, Bailey Taylor-Egan marked and goaled from close range to get things rolling.

Old Paradians then started to win more of the football, before it was their turn to hit the scoreboard.

Two behinds were kicked by the hosts before skipper Marcus Nolan, who was playing his first match since Round 10, converted his set shot opportunity to get the Raiders their first.

Tom Cooper made it back-to-back goals for Ben Turner’s side as the game started to open up, intercepting a handball deep in the Old Paradians forward line to put his side in front for the first time. But minutes later, a goal to Liam Monaghan saw the lead change hands immediately.

The Raiders were up for the challenge, and their constant pressure on the Blues’ defence saw more chances for the home side to hit the scoreboard.

Lachie Kerr sensed this and fired two quick goals within a minute to help his team take a 16-point advantage into half time.

As Old Paradians continued to press at the start of the third quarter, the Blues were doing their best to not let their deficit extend further. Their resistance led to Paul Derrick’s side kicking the opening goal of the quarter against the run of play thanks to Emmett Clark.

But again, the Raiders responded, with Kerr bobbing up for his third of the match, before Lewis Franz joined him on the goalkickers list with an accurate set shot from a tight spot.

With Gilmore and O’Sullivan having a say in the middle, Kilmore had to work hard to generate shots on goal, highlighted by some calculated ball movement which saw Brian Lawrence squeeze through a major, reducing the margin to three goals.

Old Paradians did their best to try and extend the lead but struggled to accurately convert for the rest of the term, leading by 20 points at the final change, but netting a far from ideal 2.7 for the quarter.

Momentum was favouring Old Paradians heading into the last quarter despite their slightly vulnerable advantage, but a hot start gave the hosts some breathing room.

O’Sullivan snapped truly at the three-minute mark, before some excellent transitional work from defence to attack saw Blair Healy finish the play with his first major. Healy would produce a second no less than a minute later to all but seal the result.

Tom Cooper then kicked his second goal shortly after to see the margin pushed out to 33 points and it looked like the Raiders were well on the path to victory.

Two more majors from the Raiders, one of which being Healy’s third, made it six unanswered goals to put a positive end to another victory for Old Paradians in 2024.