HILLSIDE is now two games clear atop the Essendon District Football League division 2 ladder, following a 36-point win over Roxburgh Park on Saturday.
With Moonee Valley losing its second consecutive match against Keilor Park, Hillside’s 11-1 record and mammoth 298 percentage places it comfortably ahead of the Valley, 9-3 and with 186 per cent, in third.
The Sharks set the game up with a dominant opening term, booting six goals to one to take a 31-point lead into quarter time. From there the match was much more even.
The Magpies closed the gap to 21 points at half-time, with four goals in the second quarter, and kept Hillside to one goal in the final term but the early lead was just too great.
In other matches, Keilor Park knocked off Moonee Valley, keeping its finals hopes alive. The Devils, coming off a massive loss to Hillside a week earlier, trailed by 12 at half-time but drew level with Valley in the second term with five goals to three. Six second-half goals was just enough for Park to cause a five-point upset.
In division 1, Taylors Lakes kept in touch with the top three with a 21-point win over West Coburg. The Lions, assured of finals, moved four wins ahead of Hadfield in fifth but had to stem a spirited second-half comeback from West Coburg.
Taylors Lakes kicked seven goals to two in the first term to lead by 30 points at quarter time and by half-time had extended the lead to 46 points.
But the Lions managed just four goals in the second half as West Coburg, desperate to avoid relegation, kicked nine, including five in the final term, to make a contest.
In the premier division Keilor snapped a three-game losing streak with a 68-point win over Pascoe Vale.
Click here to see our picture gallery of the Premier clash between Greenvale and Maribyrnong Park.
