Hawks hunt down Southerners with 94-point win at home

Deanmill have kept their hunt for finals well and truly alive after a confident 94-point win over the Southerners. The Hawks hosted their opponents in Deanmill on Sunday afternoon, where the oval had built up plenty of mud thanks to rain over the weekend. Although both sides were victims to the poor turf conditions, the home side was locked in early, setting up well behind the ball as they rebounded any Southerners’ push. The pressure from the Hawks saw them hit the scoreboard consistently in the first term, while the Southerners were unable to look dangerous at all and remained scoreless. With the onus on the visitors to make something happen, it was the Southerners who struck first in the second quarter with an early goal thanks to a strong mark in the goal square from Martin Sebire. However, the Hawks soon reset themselves and despite the Southerners winning more contested ball, the home team kept it locked in their forward half. There was little to no clean play from either team in the second half, both just battling to bang the ball forward. As the game wore on, the Hawks eventually wore out the Southerners with their repeat entries inside 50 which were predominantly converted by David Fall and Rory Sparks, who booted 11 goals between them. With no clear path out of defence for the Southerners, the margin slowly grew as the Hawks finished on top 14.17 (101) to 1.1 (7). Deanmill will now host the Imperials this Saturday, while the Southerners take on the Cougars in Kojonup.