MEGT U19 Premier: I guess that’s why they call it the Blues

By William Balme – @balmey21

Round 15 proved little more than a formality as all results went according to ladder position except for one little surprise packet down at Albert Park. Old Melburnians continue to turn expectation on its head as it overcame a 7 point three quarter time deficit to beat University Blues by a solitary point and rule one half of the Melbourne University boys out of contention for finals footy.

Uni Blues would be shaking their heads at their first half effort in front of goals where they could only manage 3 goals from 13 scoring shots, leaving them two points in arrears to the 5.0.30 OMs. From that point on the Blues did not miss a shot, but they could not halt the tide of momentum that was the OMs resurgence. With the one point win in the bag, the OMs found land from the potential relegation zone and ruined the Blues’ season in the meantime. Thomas Fuller was brilliant, booting 4 in a Best on Ground performance and Alex Mcfarlane also performed strongly for the OMs. For the Blues, Darcy Cordell was excellent but the result is a dagger through the heart of their flailing season.

St Kevins blazed away the hapless University Blacks by 95 points at Crawford Oval to signal their intentions. The SKOB lads were far too good on the day with bags to Wallis (6), Bonacci (4) and 3 each to Ostrowsky and Kennedy illustrating their complete dominance in the forward half. St Kevins remain four points off the pace and in a reasonable position to have a crack at a Grand Final playoff but will have to continue to build their momentum considering their heavy defeat at the hands of the Old Xaverians a few weeks ago. With players like Bonacci and De Biase plying their trade, they are capable of matching it with the best on their day.

Speaking of the Old Xaverians, they produced another strong display to dismantle Old Scotch by 10 goals at Camberwell Sports Ground. Not for the first time this weekend, the game puttered through with most of the crowd knowing full well from early on in the game that this was an academic result. Charlie Kennedy snagged 5 whilst Tommy Amad was strong in the middle. Old Scotch had no answers for the slick ball movement, however Daggian snagged two and McDougall was a key in their minor fight back in the third term.

The terrible season just won’t end for Old Trinity, who slumped to their 14th straight loss against the rampaging St Bernards. The Snowdogs were ferocious in their attack on the footy, scuttling the brave first quarter effort from Old Trinity, and reducing them to mere obstacles in the second half. The first quarter was very encouraging from the OTs but the game whittled into a non-contest when Bernies kicked 5 goals to 1 point in the third term. Old Trinity could only manage one more goal for the game after their 5 goal first term. Timothy Hall booted 3 for the OTs in a brave effort, but it was the blistering trio of Madden, Kennedy and Vague who were too much for the OTs to handle.

De La Salle’s finals hopes were blown out of the water by a determined Beaumaris effort. Beaumaris’ season has come alive in the past few weeks with some great victories against St Kevins and De La Salle (twice) in recent fixtures. Although their senior side looks destined to be playing in Premier B next season, the future looks bright for the youth, as shown by a 3 goal effort from Max Williams and a great performance from Julian Lam. De La’s season is at crossroads, as their finals prospects appear dim. William Mackie was their best.

Tips:

St Bernards v De La Salle
Old Melburnians v Beaumaris
Old Scotch v University Blacks
University Blues v St Kevins
Old Xaverians v Old Trinity