Premier B: Can you make a statement in Rd 1?

David Chalmers

@DAChalmers81

The 2015 Premier B season started with a bang down at Brindisi St in the match-of-the-round clash between newly-relegated St Bedes Mentone and perennial B section performers St Kevins. The Tigers were looking to get off to a flying start after seven years in Premier, while St Kevins will be looking to take the next step this season after losing to Old Carey in the Preliminary Final in 2014. In an enthralling contest in which the margin never got beyond four goals, St Kevins came out on top thanks to a long goal by Steven Salopek in front of the St Bedes faithful late in the game. The visitors held on to win by four points.

The match started in fiery fashion, with players brushing off the cobwebs and clearly eager to stamp their mark on the game. A push and shove in the first two minutes resulted in a free kick and easy goal to St Kevins, who dominated the first five minutes of the game. However St Bedes, kicking with the breeze, fought back to ensure that the first quarter honours were shared. A highlight included a huge early mark-of-the-year contender to Tiger Chris Richards. In contrast to the second quarter, the third was a high scoring, free-flowing affair. Defence seemingly went out the window as the two teams traded goals early on, before St Bedes broke the game open with five unanswered goals, despite St Kevins winning the ball around the ground the Tigers had a two point lead at the final change.

This set the scene for the final quarter which, for a neutral observer, was a captivating arm wrestle. Both teams had their chances, but goals were hard to come by as the pressure and intensity gradually built up. The final ten minutes were manic as players started succumbing to cramps and the umpires seemingly put their whistles away, resulting in eruptions of anger on both sides of the fence. The Tigers managed to build a 10-point lead halfway through the quarter but gradually saw it whittled away, and they were eventually overtaken thanks to the long Salopek goal. The match was a credit to both teams, and they have set an excellent standard for Premier B in 2015.

Hampton Rovers enjoyed a dream start to their promotion to Premier B. After unveiling their 2014 premiership flag before the match, they ran all over Mazenod and finished with a convincing 69-point victory at Boss James Reserve on Saturday. In perfect conditions for football, the Rovers dominated from quarter time onwards, although it was tight early on. The first goal of the game came from rover Adam McNeil after nine minutes and at quarter time the Rovers held a ten point lead. The floodgates opened in the second quarter and Hampton kicked nine goals to five with the wind. The Mazenod defence managed to stem the flow in the third, with Tom Warby and Steve Oldman working hard. While Mazenod didn’t play poorly, the Rovers were just too good on the day, and as the final siren sounded they had claimed a 69-point win. Nathan Smith (four goals) and Guy Martyn (five) led the way for the Rovers, while for Mazenod Dalton, Cowen and Welsford each kicked two goals and Nick Thomas and Ben Phibbs were both were amongst the best.

Old Brighton has wasted no time in sending the rest of Premier B section an ominous message, with a 77-point mauling of Fitzroy on their home turf to kick off the 2015 season. Back in Premier B after one season at the top level and under new coach Greg Hutchison, the Tonners kicked 5.7 against the wind in the first quarter to set up the victory. Tom Cheshire levelled the scores early on for Fitzroy and the Fitzroy defenders, including Max Ellis and Jack Parkinson battled manfully, but struggled to contain the constant forward thrusts from the Old Brighton midfield, notably Jon Perrett and Tom Mariani. Fitzroy coach Michael Pickering asked his defence to play tighter and show more niggle but unfortunately the second quarter was much of the same, with Old Brighton spearhead Dan Anthony kicking two goals and the superb Tonner defence led by Ben Austen and Nick Marston held the Lions scoreless. Old Brighton added five goals in the quarter to take a 57-point lead into the main break.
Old Brighton extended their lead to 72 points by three-quarter time, with a lone Sam Baker goal providing a rare highlight for the Fitzroy faithful. There were brighter signs for Fitzroy in the final term, as they appeared to be more structured in general play and started getting the ball regularly inside their forward line. Late goals to Will Fenton and Dom Pound-Palmieri ensured there would be no three-figure margin at the end of the game. Old Brighton coach Greg Hutchison would have been impressed by his side’s pressure, quality of disposal and understanding of their team structures.

Over at Glenhuntly Oval, the lowest scoring match of the round was between Caulfield Grammarians and the Parkdale Vultures. Caulfield are contesting their third straight year of Premier B, while Parkdale finished runner-up in C section in 2014 to earn another promotion. While the match was evenly contested, ultimately it was accuracy in front of goal that proved the difference, with the Vultures kicking 1.6 in the first half to trail Caulfield by 19 points. Things improved marginally in the second half but they were still outscored, resulting in a 29 point victory to Caulfield. Keegan Stewart kicked three goals for Caulfield and was joined in the best players by Clay Williams and Declan Reilly, while Parkdale had four individual goal kickers and Sam Chitty and Thomas Redmond were amongst the best players.

Old Melburnians hosted AJAX in a spiteful contest at the Junction Oval. Heading in to the first round, the Jackas were coming off one of the most intense pre-seasons in the club’s history, and new coach, Marty Pask, had developed a very positive atmosphere around the club. AJAX jumped the hosts in the first quarter, taking a 3.4 to 1.2 lead at quarter time despite injuries to Josh Kalmus and debutant ruckman Ryan Winston. Whatever Old Melburnians coach Nathan Brown said at quarter time worked, as they came out and kicked 5.6 while keeping AJAX to one goal, taking a 13 point lead into half time. Old Melburnians were never headed in the second half and only inaccuracy prevented the margin from being greater, running out 14.17 (101) to 8.10 (58). Old Melburnians boasted 11 goalkickers for the match, while for AJAX Jake Lew kicked three goals and Jason Ritterman and Ashley Kalb were standouts.

St Bedes/Mentone v Hampton Rovers

Mazenod v Old Brighton

AJAX v Parkdale

Caulfield v Old Melburnians

St Kevins v Fitzroy