Melton spoiled the 300-game party for Melton South stalwart Marc Dransman at the weekend, running out a convincing winner in the Ballarat Football League derby to keep control of its own finals destiny.
While Dransman was a pillar up forward to lead the scoring for the hosts, he didn’t have enough support as Melton extended its lead at every change to win 20.13 (133)-10.10 (70) at Melton Recreation Reserve.
The Bloods’ early inaccuracy kept the home side in the game as they kicked only five goals from 11 shots to gain a 23-point buffer by quarter-time.
The Panthers regrouped in the second quarter, stopping the flood of forward thrusts to almost break even over the quarter and give themselves some hope for the second half.
But the third quarter was decisive for the Bloods, with midfielders Matthew Notman and Jack Walker sharing four goals as they put the result beyond doubt with six goals to three.
Notman and Walker continued their good work, kicking six and four goals respectively from the midfield, and earning the praise of Melton coach Brad Murphy.
“Any time you get 10 goals out of your midfield it’s pretty handy,” Murphy said. “They did the job in the middle all day and then to hit the scoreboard as well is pretty important.”
Dransman toiled hard, with two of his three goals coming in the third quarter, but with Melton dominating the clearances he was getting limited supply.
The Panthers kicked three goals in six minutes midway through the final quarter to give the scoreboard some respectability, but one final push from the Bloods saw the margin blow out again before the final siren.
Murphy referenced NRL star Sam Thaiday in his post-match assessment, quoting his infamous line after this year’s first state of origin match.
“It was a bit like losing your virginity … it wasn’t pretty but we got the job done,” Murphy said. “It was a pretty average game to watch, but we did what we had to do and got the win.
“We knew they’d be up and about with Dransman’s 300th, so we tried to shut it down early and get the game on our terms. I thought we did that pretty well.”
In the round’s other derby, Bacchus Marsh helped itself to a thumping win over Darley to stay outright second place and hurt Darley’s own finals chances.
A dominant second half stretched out a healthy lead to a momentous one as Bacchus Marsh ran away 22.15 (147)-6.9 (45), a win built on the back of 10 goals between Jarrah Maksymow and Damien Cupido.
The loss leaves Darley just two percentage points ahead of Melton on a congested ladder.
