Beaumaris has strengthened its premiership pursuit with a dominant 69-point win over Mazenod.
The undefeated Sharks were too strong for the Nodders, winning 20.15 (135) to 9.12 (66) at Central Reserve Oval, Glen Waverley on Saturday.
The sticky hands of Richmond VFL-listed tall Joel Cusack (three goals) were on show, while midfield staples Will Edmonds (three goals), Rob Cathcart and Matt Petering again formed a lethal trio in the coalface.
Dashing defender Will Gillespie was the root of many of the Sharks’ forward thrusts, blending well with Ben McLean and Scott Gower.
Round three inclusion Matt Lovejoy made an immediate impact up in attack, linking brilliantly with his forwad-50 teammates to help establish an early lead for the Sharks.
But as the Nodders stemmed the bleeding in the second term, the Sharks relaunched after halftime to streak ahead and claim its third successive victory.
Ruckman Anthony Carroll, who again took control at contests against taller opponents, says there’s still room for improvement.
“It’s exciting to be undefeated, but there are still a few more gears we can click into,” Carroll said.
“We have a lot of new faces and a new coach, so the more footy we play together, the better we’re going to get.
“In our game against Mazenod, we were so close to putting them away early. Our second quarter let us down because of inaccuracy in front of goal. But it’s still early days and it’s great to know we can go to another level.”
The Sharks are positioned third on the ladder behind first-placed Old Carey and University Blacks.
Meanwhile, the reserves are proving to be the team to beat following another one-sided victory.
The Sharks bypassed Mazenod by 82 points – the team’s lowest winning margin to date.
The result saw the side’s percentage drop by almost half to 830 per cent.
Matt Williams was a ball-winning force in the guts, as Josh Trew and Dylan Gabron-Uhe also push for a senior recall.
Carroll believes the strength of the reserves is the club’s greatest asset, with many players set to be called upon throughout the season.
“The twos playing well is great for the club. Both teams winning keeps the vibe high on game day and during the week around the club,” he said.
“It also shows that there are a lot of good players who we can easily call upon in the seniors during the year.”
The Sharks return to Banksia Reserve this week to take on Caulfield Grammarians.
For both the seniors and reserves, Caulfield will be a bullish side having won two games on the trot.
“We just need to get the simple things right. When we try and do too much and mess around then we end up costing ourselves,” he said.
“Our best footy can beat anyone.”