…and then there were five in Premier B

By David Chalmers – @DAChalmer81

With one round remaining the Premier B competition is still wide open, with five teams still in the race to play finals. In the upper echelons, St Bede’s/Mentone took advantage of a couple of losses to Beaumaris and have taken top spot. Old Scotch and Monash round out the top four, both half a game ahead of Fitzroy in fifth. Monash, being the only one of the three clubs to play a top four team in Round 18, are in the biggest danger of missing out. Old Brighton won six of their last seven games but still ended up a couple of games outside finals action, while Ajax and Parkdale live to fight another day in Premier B. Hampton and Old Haileybury will be contesting Premier C in 2017.

It was a big day at Brunswick Street Oval, where Fitzroy and Old Scotch contested a crucial clash. As well as being the Roys last home game for the season, they were celebrating 50 years since the iconic venue hosted an AFL/VFL match. The Roys started with the wind but could only manage 3.5, giving them a 10-point lead at quarter time. Old Scotch didn’t fare much better in the second, kicking 3.6 to the home side’s 1.1. The third term was also a low-scoring affair. Jack Bull goaled for the Cardinals inside the first two minutes and was answered by Lachlan Henderson soon after. Both sides went scoreless for the next ten minutes, before Sam Anderson took a contested mark in the goal square and kicked truly. Fitzroy found themselves trailing by 14 points going into the wind in the last but they had everything to play for; finals were at stake. As it turned out, it would be Old Scotch’s afternoon. The Cardinals were determined to put some wins together, having lost five of their past six games. Max Van den Broek started things off for the visitors, joined by Tom Havers (two) and Jono Daggian (two). A Henderson behind finally got the Roys on the scoreboard before Havers kicked the Cardinals sixth for the quarter, giving them a big win.

Old Brighton had won five in a row and were on the march before running into fellow contenders Monash last week, going down by eight points. In Round 17 they came up against ladder leaders Beaumaris, who were also looking to rejoin the winners list after losing to Fitzroy. Old Brighton dominated the opening term, keeping the Sharks goalless and kicking five of their own. Andrew Dewar started things off for the Tonners and it was a little while before Michael Karayannis joined him and Tom Fisher goaled soon after. Tom King and Harry Hill finished off a great quarter for Old Brighton. The Sharks went goalless again in the second term, with their half time scoreline reading 0.1 (1) and a ten goal lead to Old Brighton. The third term was more even with both sides kicking a couple each and the Sharks finally switched on in the last, outscoring the Tonners five goals to three. However, the final siren signalled a 50-point win to Old Brighton, meaning two straight losses for Beaumaris and they also lost top spot.

Ajax and Old Haileybury battled out an ‘eight-point game’ at Princess Park in Caulfield. With the Jackas hovering a couple of games above relegation territory, a Bloods victory would have brought them within one game with one game remaining, whereas a Jackas win would shoot them three games clear and assure a spot in Premier B in 2017. Led by David Fayman and Brad Caplan, the Jackas had the better of the first half, kicking four goals in each quarter and setting up a 20-point half time lead. Defence went out the window in the third, as both teams combined for 12.3 and Old Haileybury worked their way back into the contest. Adam Weekes kicked the first inside thirty seconds, and was answered by Fayman. Peter Shakallis and Nathan Waite struck back for the Bloods before the Jackas kicked two more, including one from Caplan. From here, the Bloods hit a purple patch to match their guernseys, kicking four goals in five minutes through Waite, Shakallis, John Nicolopoulos and Shane Valenti. Fayman and Dean Rotenberg kicked the last two goals of the quarter to steady the ship for the Jackas and set up a big last quarter. As it turned out, the Jackas did enough and found themselves in front at the final siren, hanging on for a six point win.

Having sat in Beaumaris’s shadow for most of the season, St Bede’s/Mentone found themselves with an opportunity to snatch top spot when they took on bottom side Hampton. The Tigers set the tone of what was to come with eight scoring shots to two in the first term. They blew the game open in the second quarter, kicking 7.3 to 1.4. Five of the goals came in the first half of the quarter, with Alex Smout, Michael Barnes, George Rowlands and Erish Uthayakumar all getting on the board. Hampton showed glimpses late in the term but were unable to convert chances into goals, with William Walker kicking the Rovers only major for the term. Ben Nicoll and Pat Tyquin consolidated the Tigers supremacy with the last two goals of the quarter and a 50-point half time lead. The Rovers fought back well in the third quarter kicking five goals to three, but were held goalless in the last as the Tigers finished with a 65-point win and regained top spot after Beaumaris crashed to a big loss against Old Brighton.

Monash had won three of their past four games and were looking to continue their march to the finals when they took on Parkdale. The Blues had more scoring shots in the first term but inaccuracy meant they trailed by one point at quarter time. The second term saw just one goal kicked as both teams struggled to find the big sticks, and the Blues found themselves five points up at the main break. The shackles came off in the third quarter as both teams combined for nine goals. Josh Manning put the Vultures in front in the opening minute but was soon answered by Gareth Taylor. The Blues started to assert their authority as the goals came thick and fast. Nick Petering, Andre Headberry and Nick McConville all added goals over the next few minutes before Nathan Papatsanis and Charlie Dillon stemmed the flow for the Vultures. Headberry received a gift in the form of a 25m penalty thanks to a lack of discipline from the Parkdale defence and Monash led by 25 points at three-quarter time. After the frantic third quarter things slowed down in the last, with both teams managing just one goal each and Monash climbing back into the top four with a 27-point win.  

Round 18
Old Brighton v Old Haileybury
St Bede’s/Mentone v Monash Blues
Old Scotch v Hampton Rovers
Ajax v Beaumaris
Parkdale v Fitzroy