Taking Stock

David Chalmers

We are now one third of the way through the Premier B season and what do we know? Well firstly, assumptions are a dangerous beast. Just when I thought I had this competition figured out, Parkdale welcomed Old Brighton to the Vultures Nest and ambushed them for a five goal win while Fitzroy pushed Old Melburnians all the way, only to fall short by seven points. Nothing is certain in Premier B, which makes it a great section to be part of.

Footy’s a funny game. One week you can be undefeated and playing in a top-of-the-table clash, the next you can find yourself losing to the bottom team by five goals. Such is Old Brighton’s reality after Round 6. After going down to St Kevins by two goals, the Tonners would have been keen to atone at the Vultures Nest. They were boosted by the return of Marcel Bruin and Ben Jakobi, while Kurt Lopo was absent for the Vultures after an excellent season debut the previous week. After an even first half in which scores were level at both breaks, Greg Hutchison put it firmly to his players that they had the capacity and responsibility to “fix” the things holding them back. They were being comprehensively out-worked in the mid-field and the delivery to the forwards was not up to the usual standard. The Vultures pressure was unrelenting and they gave the Tonners a lesson in unqualified energy and concentration. They held a two goal lead at the final change and sealed the deal with a six goal final quarter, resulting in the upset of the season so far. There were no shortage of contributors for the victors, with Liam Platt, Tim Boland and Nathan Ng each kicking three goals. Old Brighton return to The Beach to face AJAX and to be honest, I fear what may transpire for the Jackas. The Vultures travel to Central Reserve to face Mazenod and I’m tipping them to win two in a row.

AJAX were coming off consecutive losses, so hosting an undefeated St Kevins unit was always going to be a challenge, especially without two of their better players Brad Caplan and Geoff Measey. SKOBs had five changes of their own, including the Salopek boys who had been in great form in recent weeks. It’s fair to say that if AJAX coach Marty Pask, had nightmares about their matchup with competition leaders St Kevins, the way it panned out would have been pretty close to the mark. An avalanche of ball inside SKOBs forward line combined with several AJAX turnovers, had Pask laying out footy basics to his charges at the first break. St Kevins inaccuracy (4.10) meant that the quarter time margin flattered the Jackas, but they got their kicking boots on in the second term, scoring 8.3 to AJAX 3.1. Jake Lew was the one shining light for the Jackas, kicking four goals. Things didn’t get any better for the home side as the day wore on and the margin ended up 94 points in favour of SKOB. Philip Edgar kicked six goals and led eleven SKOBs goalkickers. AJAX come up against an Old Brighton side who have now lost two in a row, while St Kevins are back at home against Caulfield.

Hampton consolidated their position in the middle of the competition with a four goal victory over a persistent Caulfield, who were without prominent performers Ryan Lewis and Declan Reilly. The Rovers got off to a flying start and led six goals to three at the first change. However, the ‘Fields stayed within range all day and actually had more scoring shots, but accuracy in front of goal proved to be the difference in the end. Rovers captain Leigh Fletcher continued his stellar season leading from the front, Daniel Corp kicked six goals and Sam Bradford returned to chip in with two. For Caulfield, Tim Nixon, Jay Neratzoglou and Louis O’Keefe were among the best. The Rovers will be looking to replace Old Melburnians in the top four when they clash at the Junction Oval and Caulfield meets St Kevins at TH King.

Fitzroy may only have one win from their first six games, but they are by no means out of their depth in Premier B. After starting the season with heavy defeats against St Kevins and Old Brighton, the Roys have fought back well with a five goal win over Mazenod and three losses by two goals or less. While this is cold comfort to those involved with the club, opposition clubs can assume a victory at their own peril. Old Melburnians continue to maintain their top-four position and travelled to Brunswick Street after scraping home with a one-point win over St Bedes/Mentone. Nick Daish has been in very good form for the OMs and was clearly missed. OMs got the better start, kicking four goals to one in the opening term before going goalless in the second resulting in a six point Roys lead at the main break. Old Melburnians had a slight edge in the second half, and managed to escape with a seven point win. Armstrong kicked three goals for the winners and Ted De Fegeley and Tom Bachet were also very good, while for the Roys Luke Edwards and Dale Sheedy both kicked two goals. Next up for the Roys is a home game against the Tigers, while OMs meet the Rovers in a crucial clash for fourth spot.

St Bedes/Mentone would have been licking their wounds after a one-point loss to OMs last week and one gets the feeling that whoever visited the Tigers lair in Round 6 was going to cop it. In this case Mazenod were the hapless victims, to the tune of 88 points. The Tigers ended the first quarter with ten scoring shots to one and kicked nine goals in the second quarter to put the game beyond doubt by the main break. Nine individual goalkickers were led by Michael Barnes with a bag of 8 and Pat Tyquin chimed in with 5. Tom Warby’s absence hurt the Nodders after being named best-on last week, but brighter signs were Jeremy Devlin’s four goals and Xavier Patti had an excellent 2015 debut with two goals. The Tigers now host Fitzroy while Mazenod has a danger game against the rejuvenated Vultures.

Round 7 tips:

Old Brighton Gr. vs AJAX

Fitzroy vs St Bedes/Mentone Tigers

Mazenod OC vs Parkdale Vultures

Old Melburnians vs Hampton Rovers

St Kevins OB vs Caulfield Gr.