R10 2025 | Dev Squad at St Mary’s Salesian
Round 10 arrived, and with it came a fresh challenge. After a massive 200-point win over Monash, we were set to face the St Mary's Development Squad. As exciting as the match-up was, the bigger news came off-field. Our leading goalkicker and in-form forward, Aaron Shipperlee, was called up for his senior debut, lining up alongside his mate Ben Tyrrell in the ones.
Despite the buzz, we had to refocus quickly. An early 9.20AM start did not sit well with most of the group, but we were boosted by the return of excitement machine Lucas Judd and welcomed debutant Year 12 student Noah Peterson into the side.
The first quarter was sluggish from our end. St Mary's came out firing and kicked the opener to put us on the back foot. Michael Van Benten responded with our first, but their pressure continued and eventually cracked our backline. At the first break, we trailed 15 to 11.
That wake-up call lit a fire.
Matt Haberfield and Asher Claney got to work on the inside, supported by the ever-reliable Blake Italiano. We began winning crucial clearances and delivering clean entries to our forwards. VB and Lachlan Sharrock kicked vital goals to keep the momentum rolling, and Kavish Tailor added two of his own to cap off the quarter. Our defensive group tightened up and started hitting shorter options to stretch the ground. Liam Leeden’s aggressive mindset down back helped generate repeat entries inside 50. The reward followed. The scoreboard read 50 to 22 at halftime.
The third quarter belonged to debutant Noah Peterson. Returning from a serious ankle injury, he looked right at home. He took intercept marks, attacked every contest with intent, and linked up with skipper Lachlan O’Halloran and vice-captain Sam Tralaggan to launch us forward. Matt Haberfield continued his rich form and slotted another, while Lachie Sharrock found the goals again from midfield. Kavish Tailor added his third, and by the final break, we had stretched the lead to 41 points.
The final message was simple. Finish the job.
Riley O’Halloran and Lachlan Lane were rock solid in defense, locking down key matchups. Austin Reynolds impressed with his elite ball use, threading passes through the St Mary's structure and finding options all across the field. Michael Van Benten capped off a dominant performance by clunking a strong contested mark in the square and slotting his sixth goal. Lucas Judd added another just before the siren, sealing a 67-point win for the JnrCorns.
After the song was sung, a big shoutout goes to Kavish Tailor, Austin Reynolds, and Liam Leeden, who raced off immediately to double up in the Reserves. Next up, we face Wattle Park, who sit second on the ladder. With the rest of the top five ahead of us in the run home, the next month will define our season and show exactly where we stand in the race for the 2025 Premiership.
Final Score: MHSOBFC Dev Squad 14.15-99 defeated St Mary’s Salesian 4.8-32.
Goalkickers: M.Van Benten 6, L.Sharrock 2, M.Habberfield 2, K.Tailor 2, B.Italiano 1, L.Judd 1.
Best Players: Matthew Haberfield, Michael Van Benten, Kavish Tailor, Lachlan Sharrock, Noah Peterson, Asher Claney.