An eight-goal bag from Patrick Fitzgerald has steered Montmorency to a spectacular 86-point thrashing of last year’s premiers, Bundoora, under the lights of Montmorency Oval.
Despite only four points separating the two sides at quarter-time, the Magpies turned up the heat in the second term with a six-goal term, before burying the Bulls with a 14-goal second half.
The woes only worsened for Bundoora, with injuries to captain Brent Marshall and Gary Moorcroft bringing their abysmal day to a close.
Ben Kennedy was at his brilliant best for the Magpies throughout the centre of the ground alongside returning skipper, Jesse Donaldson (three goals), while Sam Binion and Michael Fitz-Gerald held up the back end of the ground superbly.
But all were overshadowed by Fitzgerald, whose imposing presence up forward and unrivalled marking ability could not be contained by the Bulls’ defenders.
Now sitting at 14 goals for the season, Fitzgerald sits in second place on the Meadows Greyhounds Division One goalkicking leaderboard, only two behind West Preston-Lakeside’s Ahmed Saad.
Even from the opening minute the Magpies looked dangerous, with a blistering clearance from Matt White gifting Ben Walton the first of the day.
It would unfortunately be Walton’s only impact for the match, with the key forward sidelined with a suspected right hamstring injury.
Despite being one down early, Monty refused to relent their aggressive intentions, with their pace and audacious ball movement slicing through the centre of the ground.
Even so, the Bulls seized their opportunities, with their two goals for the term – courtesy of Andrew Sturgess and Josh Grabowski – both the result in a lapse in defensive pressure.
Donaldson fired back an immediate reply, before a Binion intercept and cool conversion thrust the Magpies to a four-point advantage at the main break.
Despite the lead, the Magpies had won five less stoppages than the Bulls, thanks to the dangerous Joshua Iacobaccio and Nathan Thomas who carved through the middle of the ground consistently.
It was an area which needed be addressed going into the second term, and was one which was done so promptly as Monty stamped their authority on the game and blazed away with a six-goal quarter.
Joel McLellan found his way on top in the ruck contests throughout the term, overcoming both Joel Grace and the famed Matty Dennis on several occasions.
As Kennedy and White troubled the Bulls through their sheer speed and strength, Stephen McCallum added his name to the scoresheet within the first few minutes of the term.
It would take some time before the Magpies jagged their next one, but successive key marks and rebound 50s from Daniel Coghill, along with crunching tackles from Jordan Steele and Kennedy, spurred the black-and-white army forward.
Fitzgerald eventually slotted his first as a result of the continual pressure, before Danko Bzenic, White, Matt Hunt and James Brooker all put their names down alongside him as scoreboard contributors.
Bundoora’s two goals for the term, both off the boot of Peter Hood – one of which was also scored in the final 20 seconds – kept the Bulls within touch, albeit only just, as they trailed by 23 points at the main break.
Although Bundoora fired first with the opening goal of the third term, it would end up being their only major as the Magpies stacked on seven and cracked the ton before three-quarter time.
The Binion and Fitz-Gerald combination across half-back proved to be invaluable to their success, with their intercept plays, speedy hands and faultless decision-making spawning numerous Monty entries forward.
As Fitzgerald added another three to his tally, the Magpies’ stellar performance continued, with their most dynamic and daring passages of play coming to fruition in the final 10 minutes of the third term.
It was easy to forget the individual efforts which willed the Pies forward – such as a courageous Binion mark in defence and a goal-saving tackle from Brent Fotheringhame – mainly due to Montmorency’s unequivocal team cohesion.
After being presented with a goal of the year opportunity, White selflessly passed the ball off to Fitzgerald who converted, again highlighting the team’s unified approach.
Thanks to their efforts and hard work, the Magpies shut down the Bulls’ run and chances to switch the ball, with the margin standing at 65 points at three-quarter time.
With a 100-point victory in sight, Monty continued to ramp up the pressure with another seven-goal blitzkrieg in the final term to close out proceedings.
Despite a spirited three-goal Bundoora fightback to save themselves from further humiliation, the Magpies continued their offensive to finish with a whopping 23 goals.
As Fitzgerald booted his eighth to close out the match, the Magpies fell just short of the fabled triple-figure win to run out as 86-point victors.
“I think I just got a little bit lucky, the pressure up the ground got the better of Bundoora and I got a few out the back which was good,” Fitzgerald said post-match.
Despite the early injury to Walton, Fitzgerald praised Monty’s ability to adapt their forward structure with great success.
“We wanted to stretch them, so we got our talls, and even Connor [Dalgleish] going up forward as well,” Fitzgerald said.
“It threw us out a little [Ben Walton’s injury] and White had to play forward a little bit more which again turned out really well for us.”
The key forward similarly lauded Kennedy and White’s performances on the night, saying their inclusion in the Monty line-up has been “amazing”.
“To get that experience straight out of the AFL system, you just can’t buy that experience,” Fitzgerald said.
“They give different things; Whitey’s the veteran, a little older and a bit of a wiser head and then to get a player like Kennedy who’s still in the prime of his career is something we’re really lucky to have.”
Fitzgerald was more pleased for his side’s performance, and although modest at his mammoth haul, said he and the boys would be raring to go into next week.
Montmorency will head across to De Winton Park to face off against Macleod, who too will be brimming with confidence following their 63-point thumping of Hurstbridge.
MONTMORENCY 3.3 9.8 16.8 23.9 (147)
BUNDOORA 2.5 4.7 5.9 8.13 (61)
GOALS
Montmorency: P. Fitzgerald 8, J. Donaldson 3, D. Bzenic 3, L. Collins 2, J. Brooker, S. Binion, S. McCallum, M. Hunt, B. Walton, M. White, B. Fennell
Bundoora: N. Thomas 2, P. Hood 2, D. Nixon, J. Grabowski, A. Sturgess, L. Byrne BEST
Montmorency: P. Fitzgerald, B. Kennedy, L. Collins, M. White, D. Bzenic, M. Fitz-Gerald, S. Binion
Bundoora: N. Grabowski, D. Nixon, A. Sturgess, B. Young, B. Carlyon, J. Grace
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