A gallant Ocean Grove went down by only two points in their curtain-raiser reserves grade thriller against Geelong Amateur on Saturday.
Final scores Geelong Amateur 7.11(53) to Ocean Grove 7.9(51).
Third-placed Amateur led at every change but the Grubbers made a late charge which made for an exciting finish.
Ocean Grove kicked three goals in the second half and kept the higher ranked Amateur goalless.
Harrison Foott played his first game with the Grubbers in three seasons and booted one goal.
Best players for Ocean Grove included Tom Lundberg and Riley Maloney.
The Grubbers are in seventh spot with a 2-7 record after nine rounds.
In the Division Two Colts Under 18 games, Ocean Grove 1 overcame Geelong Amateur by 17 points at Ray Menzies Memorial Oval.
Final scores: Ocean Grove 8.6(54) to Geelong Amateur 5.7(37).
Grubber pair Joseph Macdonald and Tom Ryan both kicked two goals.
In Division Three Colts, Ocean Grove 2 defeated Leopold 2 by 46 points at Leopold Memorial Park.
Final scores: Ocean Grove 14.5(89) to Leopold 6.7(43)
Jack Trengenza and Kirby McDonald both kicked three goals for the Grubbers.
