Melton South now enjoys derby bragging rights in addition to its first victory of the season, after a 62-point victory over its cross town rival Melton.
The Panthers kicked away from the inexperienced Metricon Bloods at Melton Recreation Reserve on Saturday night, defeating their neighbours 17.14 (116) to 8.6 (54).
While Melton led at the first change by eight points, it was as much a reflection of accurate kicking, and poor kicking from Melton South, as evidenced by a score of 1.7 at quarter time.
Melton South turned up the heat in the second term, with the Panthers’ midfield dominating at the clearances and effective at getting the ball out.
Melton only had one scoring opportunity in the second term as Melton South ground out a 14-point lead at half time.
The Panthers then kicked away with Matthew Sutton finishing with seven for the match. Frank Holzer also joined the party with some exciting play, making it look almost too easy.
“Ten goals in the end, you have got you be happy with that,” Melton South coach Shane Geddes said.
“We won the contested footy around the ground. They came at us again in the last quarter but we knuckled down and won the ball out of the middle. We did what we need to do.”
Geddes praised Holzer, along with 16-year-old Joey Callus, particularly his ability to put pressure on opponents with his leg speed.
The Melton South backline made it particularly tough on the Bloods; the Panthers working well together to secure the win.
“Our back six really did their jobs, there are a few things we will continue to work on but by and large the back six boys really did their job, and were able to nullify our opponents and run the footy out,” he said.
Melton’s coach Bob Heaney described his team’s performance as “ordinary”.
“There were too many passengers,” he said.
“We need 22 blokes to do their roles and tonight it just didn’t happen for us.”
Melton South now has the bye, while Melton must regroup before facing Lake Wendouree.
Melton South 17.14 (116)
Melton 8.6 (54)
