Hawks’ pressure wins out!
A calm foggy morning threatened to derail Monbulk’s home clash with Upwey. With the fog failing to lift, two Under 18s matches scheduled to be played at Monbulk were abandoned, as well as another at Gembrook, which was particularly hard on the Alexandra Unders who travelled two hours to have their game cancelled. While games had been played in the past in far worse conditions, it was decided for the sake of player welfare to abandon the affected games due to limited visibility. By midday the only activity going on was the President’s Lunch where Kevin Sheedy and David Rhys-Jones entertained around 100 guests.

Football
Seniors
Monbulk faced the first of their three critical encounters over three weeks when they came up against the fourth placed Upwey-Tecoma side. The Tigers jumped the Hawks to grab a three goal lead early before a couple of late replies had Monbulk down by seven points at the first change. The Hawks applied intense pressure on the Upwey ball carriers and willed themselves into contests in the air and on the ground. Although they conceded numerous free kicks, their hard work paid off as they held narrow advantages over the next two terms. The perfectly calm day had glimpses of sun late in the afternoon as the fog began to dissipate. In the final quarter the Monbulk players ran rampant and recorded a well deserved 28 point victory with Taylor Joyce proving to be a strong marking focal point.

Monbulk 11.12.78 def Upwey-Tecoma 7.8.50
Best: Taylor Joyce, Kai Linde, Mitchell Veit, Max Thornton, Riley Finlay, Lochlan Beecroft
Goals: Taylor Joyce 6, Joel Wensley 2, Ben Hughson 1, Nicholas Wall 1, Patrick Snoxell 1

Reserves
This match was also affected by the fog and did not start until just before 1pm, by which stage the match was officially up to the 3 minute mark of the second quarter. Upwey are a perennial powerhouse in the reserves, being regular grand finalists and premiers, however the Hawks kept pace with them, with scores level early in the last quarter. The Tigers finished with the last three goals but Monbulk should perform well in coming weeks if they keep this intensity up.

Monbulk 4.8.32 def by Upwey-Tecoma 7.6.48
Best: Finn Horsfall, Daniel Banks, Jacob Defina, Karl Ravenhorst, Daniel Cleary, Lewis Oliver
Goals: Daniel Banks 1, Jacob Defina 1, Lachlan Smith 1, Steven Shankly 1

Under 18s
As with the preceding Upwey v Pakenham match, the Monbulk v Alexandra was also eventually abandoned when play could not be started due to poor visibility in the fog. Both sides claimed two points. This was the first time since round 15 1987 where a Monbulk match was cancelled due to weather. In 1987 the entire round of the YVMDFL was cancelled after a torrential downpour left grounds as quagmires.

Monbulk v Alexandra abandoned

Veterans
With just three rounds before finals it was a do or die contest with Upwey on Friday night as the fifth placed Hawks took on Upwey in sixth. Monbulk were impressive from the start with strong marking and tackling, quick ball movement and transition, along with having some key focal points up forward with Wragg and Langworthy, Monbulk’s two greatest ever goal kickers in the seniors who get the team to play long and direct. It ended up being a complete rout as the Hawks jumped to third after a percentage boosting win.

Monbulk 11.11.77 def Upwey-Tecoma 2.2.14
Best: Dean White, Michael Langworthy, Peter Donald, Jared Major, Benjamin Magnay, Simon Wentworth
Goals: Michael Langworthy 2, Jarrod Roche 2, Tom Wright 1, Shaun Brooks 1, Simon Wentworth, Steven Nuutinen, Jacob Wilcox 1, Dean White 1, Grant George 1

Netball
A Grade
It was relatively quiet on the netball courts as C and D Grade had byes and the juniors were at Officer, so the Hawks were only able to showcase their main two teams. Upwey have improved since their first meeting but it was still a completely dominant performance by the Hawks.

Monbulk 80 def Upwey-Tecoma 17
Best: Grace Scott-Thomas, Sophie Stubbs, Jorja Wragg
Goals: Peri Reid 62, Jorja Wragg 15, Nicole Macdowell 3

B Grade
The preceding game ran to a similar result, with the Hawks romping to a 56 goal win. 

Monbulk 80 def Upwey-Tecoma 24
Best: Chloe Carmichael, Ava Thompson, Catherine Braniska
Goals: Chloe Baker 46, Dayna Walsham 24, Chloe Carmichael 10

Under 17s
The two Monbulk sides ran into their finals bound opponents in a ruthless mood on their own courts. The Gold and Maroon teams put up gallant displays as they jostle to grab the last finals spot.

Monbulk Gold 17 def by ROC White 29
Best: Bridie McCormick, Ella Devlin, Stevie Mullinder
Goals: Isabelle Cross 6, Kaitlyn Summers 6, Amelia Magarry 5

Monbulk Maroon 22 def by ROC Blue 57
Best: Ria Greenaway, Ruby Irwin, Chelsea Ferguson
Goals: Chelsea Ferguson 19, Eden Murphy 3

Under 15s
1t was again mixed results in this age group with the undefeated Gold team notching their tenth straight victory and they maintain a percentage of over 300. The Maroon team had battled hard against their second placed opponents and are still strongly in the running for a finals berth.

Monbulk Gold 46 def ROC White 12
Best: Eden Murphy, Ria Greenaway, Ella Longo
Goals: Eden Murphy 24, Amelia Magarry 17, Ria Greenaway 5

Monbulk Maroon 23 def by ROC Blue 46
Best: Jessica Verheyen, Katie Moody, Isabelle Kos
Goals: Isabelle Kos 18, Jessica Verheyen 4, Grace Gaunt 1