Round 14 Summary ?
The Hawks returned to the nest for their Round 14 encounters against Woori Yallock, Healesville and Belgrave in the various grades. A good crowd turned up for the Life Members and Hall Of Fame Luncheon which saw Shane Van Seters inducted as a Life Member and Shannon Koole added to the list of Hall Of Fame inductees.

MILESTONES ???
Congratulations to Kai Linde who played his 50th game for Monbulk FNC on the weekend!
Get to know Kai:
Nickname: Chief
Position: Wing (but a little down back and forward)
What year did you play your first game at MFNC? 2018
What do you love about MFNC? The atmosphere and culture around the club is awesome!!
Individual goals for 2022? Play the best footy I can
Team goal for 2022? Win the flag
Your proudest moment during your time at MFNC? Probably winning best first year player in 2018
Any injuries previously? Pulling my hamstring in 2021

Also congratulations to Jarrod Major who played his 300th senior game on the weekend.

FOOTBALL ? ? ?
Seniors ?
The Seniors were looking for redemption after last week and had the added incentive of doing it for former captain Jared Major, who was playing his 300th career Seniors match (185 with Scoresby 2004-2013 and 115 with Monbulk 2014-2022). Kai Linde also notched up game number 50. Woori started the better of the two sides and built up a 5 goal lead by three quarter-time. Throwing caution out the window in the last term, Monbulk went on an all out attack which quickly brought up a goal but the next 10 scoring shots went wide of the mark and the Hawks were unable to bridge the gap. The resultant loss leaves Monbulk in 6th place but within two games of next weeks’ opponent Wandin, in third.

Monbulk 7.18.60 def by Woori Yallock 12.11.83
Best: Joel Wensley, Dylan Werts, Pat Barge, Glenn Strachan, Taylor Joyce, Joshua Spencer
Goals: Taylor Joyce 3, Ashley Beck 1, Glenn Strachan 1, Nicholas Wall 1, Benjamin Grimes 1

Reserves ?
Monbulk’s Reserves again allowed the opposition a quick start before settling down to play some solid but disjointed football. The Hawks welcomed back Diarmid McClelland for his first game since 2019 due to a bad run with injuries, and he acquitted himself well. Despite a lack of wins against their name, they continue to play with enthusiasm and a team focus.

Monbulk 4.5.29 def by Woori Yallock 9.11.65
Best: Matthew James, Chris Separovic, Adam Banks, Diarmid Mcclelland, Hamish Emmett, Michael Davies
Goals: Matthew James 1, Steven Shankly 1, Dylan Goldberg 1, Ben Amos 1

Under 19s ?
The Under 19s had an away fixture in a quirk of the draw where they played at Healesville for the second time this season. The venue and opponent didn’t seriously manage to challenge this improving young combination, as Monbulk controlled the game from start to finish. The end margin was 90 points but could easily have been twice that if their radar was more accurate having 43 to 3 scoring shots. This has brought up Monbulk’s 7th straight win and the team find themselves entrenched in the Top 4 as they have a well-earned bye next week.

Healesville 3.0.18 def by Monbulk 13.30.108
Best: Jai Farmer, Ziggy Hatherley, Tait Colee, Jake Niclasen, Nick Taylor
Goals: Jai Farmer 4, Zeke Charlton 2, Hamish Strathairn 2, Coby Passingham 1, Jake Niclasen 1, Noah Rutherford 1, Harry Fleming 1, Tahi Kostich Angerson 1

Womens ?
With only nine Women’s football teams across the Outer East competition, all the clubs in both Conferences have been playing each other in the home and away series before splitting into their divisional finals series. This week marked the last of the H&A clashes and had the two leading 2nd Division clubs, Belgrave and Monbulk, met at Moores Road. In their previous encounter the Magpies had won by 41 points. Playing with great determination, the Hawks controlled the first half and led by 17 points before Belgrave stormed back into contention with 3 goals to none in the third quarter. Starting the final term with a two point deficit, the Hawks played inspired football to dominate the last period and notch a morale boosting win. They are now in the 2nd Semi Final next week (Sunday), again against Belgrave, and playing for a spot in the Grand Final.

Monbulk 7.1.43 def Belgrave 4.4.28
Best: Shania Turner, Indy Bakker, Molly Horne, Jennifer Pauw, Maddison Dodd, Simone Beattie
Goals: Claire Scully 2, Emily McKay 2, Maddison Dodd 1, Laura Gillard 1, Brooke O’Loughlin 1

NETBALL ? ? ?
A Grade ?
The fifth placed Monbulk A Grade netballers clashed with the eighth placed Woori girls. In a high scoring and free flowing match, only a goal separated the sides at half time. The second half was goal for goal as neither side was able to put the other away, however the Hawks crept ahead slightly and, in a close finish, snared their seventh win of the year.

Monbulk 59 def Woori Yallock 56
Best: Paige Whitworth, Stephanie Puopolo, Mackenzie Oracz
Goals: Stephanie Puopolo 45, Sophie Stubbs 14

B Grade ?
The B Grade Hawks had been disappointed to lose a close match last week and set themselves for redemption. It was the winless Healesville team that was to run into a Monbulk combination that was determined to give a good account of themselves. The defence was so tight that not even the wind could get through while the mid-court was constantly feeding the deadly forward combination of Dayna and Iris who were shooting at a very high percentage. Holding an opposition side to just 4 goals is an all-time club record, bettering the effort against Olinda in 2008, who were held to 6 goals.

Monbulk 69 def Healesville 4
Best: Siobhan Munday, Alice McCormick, Georgia Himmelreich
Goals: Dayna Walsham 39, Iris de Wit 30

C Grade ?
In C Grade it was to be an even match for the first half before Woori Yallock were able to draw away in the second half and notch their first win of the year.

Monbulk 25 def by Woori Yallock 35
Best: Sammy Beecroft, Chloe Schmidtke, Courtney Witt
Goals: Sammy Beefcroft 13, Chloe Schmidtke 12