In a round where two games were decided by a point and there were a number of blowouts, it was an interesting set of games in round 13 of the TAC Cup.  Calder and Sandringham both recorded the narrowest of wins against Western and Eastern Ranges respectively while Oakleigh defeated Northern, Dandenong smashed Bendigo and Murray belted the Rebels. In the final match of the round, Geelong held off a spirited Gippsland Power by four goals.

TAC Cup: Round 13

Calder Cannons 12.20 (92)
Western Jets 13.13 (91)

Cannons goals: Wright (3), Owen (2), Ahern (2), Christensen, Carboni, Schraven, Cooke, Cavanagh
Jets goals: Sicily (4), McKenzie (2), Norton (2), Myers, Orr, Hickey, Sullivan, Bewley
Cannons best: Christensen, Owen, Miller, Ahern, Wright, Carboni
Jets best: McKenzie, Sicily, Norton, Hickey, Greiser, Myers

Calder celebrated an important victory over fellow top eight side the Western Jets to keep them well inside the finals race. They were wayward when kicking for goal, but they had enough to get the job done, winning by a solitary point with 32 scoring shots to 26. Aaron Christensen played his best match of the year while James Sicily booted four goals for the Jets after returning from Vic Metro duties. Over-ager Jake Owen and under-ager Mitch Norton were impressive once again for their respective teams.

BFGN Rising Stars Medal:
5- Aaron Christensen (Calder Cannons)
4- Jake Owen (Calder Cannons)
3- James Sicily (Western Jets)
2- Mitch Norton (Western Jets)
1- Jake McKenzie (Western Jets)

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Oakleigh Chargers 20.10 (130)
Northern Knights 16.16 (112)

Chargers goals: Prowse (3), Pittonet (2), Gowers (2), Toohey (2), Ernest, Franetic, Tatupu, Byrne-Jones, Indovino, Fitzgerald, Carter-Taylor, Urban, Hogan, Maginness, Scott
Knights goals: Castagna (3), Porter (3), Turner (2), Haynes (2), McCabe, Malone, Bowkett, Curnow, Short, Bontempelli
Chargers best: Maginness, Byrne-Jones, Borland, Prowse, Pittonet, Kelly
Knights best: Bontempelli, Porter, Haynes, Curnow, Grimes, Hunt

This match saw a great contest between two evenly matched teams. Oakleigh made most of the running in the first quarter, and had a comfortable lead going into the first break. However, Northern hit back in the second quarter, and from then on, the game seesawed between the two. Overall, Oakleigh had more class and poise, and eventually recorded a hard-fought 18-point win. For Oakleigh, Will Maginness and Jay Kennedy-Harris were excellent in the midfield, while Darcy Byrne-Jones was fantastic across half back, and forwards Marc Pittonet and James Toohey competed hard all day. For Northern, forward Ciaran Porter was the leading goal scorer with three. Hugh Curnow and Kyle Langford competed hard all day, whilst highly-touted midfielder Marcus Bontempelli played well in patches, but faded in and out of the game.

BFGN Rising Stars Medal:
5- Will Maginness (Oakleigh Chargers)
4- Darcy Byrne-Jones (Oakleigh Chargers)
3- Hugh Curnow (Northern Knights)
2- Ciaran Porter (Northern Knights)
1- James Toohey (Oakleigh Chargers)

Dandenong Stingrays 18.15 (123)
Bendigo Pioneers 8.5 (53)

Stingrays goals: Rennie (5), Lonie (3), Lamb (3), Gardiner (2), Egan, Hartung, Jones, Joyce, Harmes
Pioneers goals: Ryan (2), McGrath (2), Mangan, Byrne, Spurr, Conway
Stingrays best: Egan, Harmes, Jones, Wilson, Rennie, Capiron
Pioneers best: Chisari, Heavyside, Byrne, Ryan, Maher, Hargreaves

Dandenong Stingrays have ended Bendigo’s slim chances of making finals with a huge 70 point win at Shepley Oval. Matt Rennis booted five goals while Jack Lonie and Tom Lamb booted three goals each in the huge win. For the Pioneers, Jacob Chisari and Sam Heavyside were again in the bests, but it mattered little as the Stingrays went about their business with little mercy. James Harmes was the best on ground for the Stingrays and has continued his good form this year.

BFGN Rising Stars Medal:
5- James Harmes (Dandenong Stingrays)
4- Matt Rennie (Dandenong Stingrays)
3- Billy Hartung (Dandenong Stingrays)
2- Jacob Chisari (Bendigo Pioneers)
1- Brady Egan (Dandenong Stingrays)

North Ballarat Rebels 4.6 (30)
Murray Bushrangers 15.5 (95)

Rebels goals: Payne, Butler, Hendy, Weightman
Bushrangers goals: King (4), Holman (2), Munro (2), Gibbons (2), Squire (2), Sharp, Wilson, Sneyd
Rebels best: Crouch, Butler, Herbert, Bowman, Cassidy, Hendy
Bushrangers best: Impey, Gibbons, Cleeland, Wilson, Squire, Sharp

Murray Bushrangers have kept their top four hopes alives with a huge 65 point win over cellar dwellers the North Ballarat Rebels. With all their state players back from their duties, the Bushrangers were far too strong with Michael Gibbons, Nick Holman and Max King all hitting the scoreboard. Jarman Impey was also impressive as was Bryden Squire while for the Rebels, Matt Crouch and Louis Herbert were the lone hands in the Rebel resistance. The Rebels have all but secured the dreaded wooden spoon unless they can win two of the last four matches to overtake the Bendigo Pioneers.

BFGN Rising Stars Medal:
5- Michael Gibbons (Murray Bushrangers)
4- Jarman Impey (Murray Bushrangers)
3- Matt Crouch (North Ballarat Rebels)
2- Bryden Squire (Murray Bushrangers)
1- Louis Herbert (North Ballarat Rebels)

Sandringham Dragons 8.15 (63)
Eastern Ranges 9.8 (62)

Dragons goals: Neiwand (2), Salem, Cathcart, Wilkinson, Hayes, LeGrice, Landman
Eastern Ranges goals: Traynor (2), Honeychurch (2), Cody (2), Petracca (2), Apeness
Dragons best: Salem, Ritchie, Merrett, Kelly, Spencer, Hayes
Eastern Ranges best: Bond, Fisher, Welsh, Burt, Petracca, Hannon

The Sandringham Dragons defeated the Eastern Ranges by one point in a thriller at Box Hill Oval on Sunday afternoon. The Eastern Ranges wrestled back the lead for the first time midway through the final quarter when they kicked the first three goals.  They led by 11 points deep into the last quarter and looked certain to record their 10th win of the season. But, to the Dragon’s credit, they rallied late and kicked two quick goals to hit the lead and win the match. The Eastern Ranges struggled early, unable to exit their defensive half due to the pressure exerted by the Dragons and were lucky to only be trailing by seven points at quarter time. The Dragons were the better team during the first half with Joshua Kelly, Christian Salem and Callum Cathcart pivotal in the Dragon’s ability to set up a 22 point lead at half time. The Eastern Ranges played much better in the second half with defender Joseph Fisher stoic down back and forward Matthew Traynor instrumental in the Eastern Ranges ability to get back into the game and cut the margin to six points by the last change.

BFGN Rising Stars Medal:
5- Christian Salem (Sandringham Dragons)
4- Josh Kelly (Sandringham Dragons)
3- Matthew Traynor (Eastern Ranges)
2- Joseph Fisher (Eastern Ranges)
1- Callum Cathcart (Sandringham Dragons)

Gippsland Power 6.9 (45)
Geelong Falcons 10.9 (69)

Power goals: Keilty, Webb, Russell, Carr, Leslie, Ambler
Falcons goals: Christensen (3), Goddard (2), McCartin, Dixon, Thompson, Bourke Beardsell
Power best: Carr, Hildebrand, Nash, Heppell, Buykx-Smith, Muir
Falcons best: Tsitas, Taylor, Fort, Beardsell, McCartin, Miles

A brave Gippsland Power have fallen short of the almighty Geelong Falcons by four goals in a tough slog at Box Hill City Oval. Aaron Christensen booted three goals with Hugh Goddard snagging two, but no-one else scored multiple majors in a game that suited the in-and-under players. James Tsitas and Lewis Taylor revelled in the conditions while Alex Carr stood up impressively in the loss. Geelong are all but secured top spot while the Power will want to bounce back to make sure they stay in the top four.

BFGN Rising Stars Medal:
5- Alex Carr (Gippsland Power)
4- Lewis Taylor (Geelong Falcons)
3- James Tsitas (Geelong Falcons)
2- Lukas Webb (Gippsland Power)
1- Liam Nash (Gippsland Power)

TAC Cup: Round 14

Dandenong Stingrays vs. Sandringham Dragons (11:00am, Saturday 27th July at Shepley Oval)
Gippsland Power vs. Eastern Ranges (1:00pm, Saturday 27th July at Morwell Football Ground)
Oakleigh Chargers vs. Bendigo Pioneers (1:30pm, Saturday 27th July at Warrawee Park)
Northern Knights vs. Geelong Falcons (2:00pm, Saturday 27th July at Preston City Oval)
Murray Bushrangers vs. Calder Cannons (11:00am, Sunday 28th July at Wangaratta)
North Ballarat Rebels vs. Western Jets (1:00pm, Sunday 28th July at Eureka Stadium)