Gaps appear as Big 3 continue their charge in Premier B

David Chalmers – DAChalmers81

Just one week after I was talking down the possibility of a clear-cut, predictable season, gaps are starting to appear in the Premier B ladder, with the top three winning again and opening up a two-game buffer. None of the top three teams will play each other in Round 5, so there is a fair chance the gap could widen. While the bottom seven teams all have a percentage below 100, The race for fourth should prove to be an interesting one.

Ajax were determined not to be pushed around by Old Scotch on their home turf and put up a good fight all day. An accurate first term gave the Jackas the advantage at quarter time, but the Cardinals fought back in the second taking a 13-point lead into the main break. The third quarter was scrappy, with lots of stoppages early on. The contest was physical, resulting in several scuffles to break out while it was the Jackas who had the better of the contest on the scoreboard. Brandon Joel, Zac Fleisher and David Fayman all got on the board before Aidan Franetic got one back for the visitors. Evgeni Routman converted a set shot from a free kick before Fayman finished off in the goal square on the back of a long kick from Toby Lipton. The deliberate-out-of-bounds rule is confounding the football world at the moment and it seems even the Ammos are not immune, with Jordan Clarke converting a nice snap from the boundary after Ajax were penalised in their backline. James Sansom roved a throw-in at half forward and regained the lead for Old Scotch at three-quarter time. The Cardinals proved too strong in the last, outlasting the Jackas to remain undefeated after four rounds.

Brunswick Street Oval was like an ice-skating rink as Fitzroy hosted second-placed St Bernards. The Snowdogs set up their victory early in the game with a four-goals-to-none first term. Corbin Stevic started the home side off well in the second quarter with a contested mark and set shot but was immediately answered with a clever soccer goal from Chris Hughes and two goals from Chris Spinella. Neither side scored a goal for ten minutes in the middle stages of the second until Julian Turner found himself with a shot from the goal square for Fitzroy. Mitchell Bottomley kicked another soon after and the Roys had levelled the quarter. Five Snowdogs goals in the third increased the visitors lead, and although the Roys outscored their opponents in the last, two goalless quarters were always going to make it difficult to kick a winning score, and St Bernards finished with a 50-point win.

Old Brighton were too good for Monash Blues in wet and slippery conditions at The Frearson Oval, winning the first three quarters comfortably while holding the Ashers to a single goal. The Tonners defence again played cohesively, attacking the ball and disposing of it accurately to midfielders and forwards running hard into space.  Ben Austen, Tom Larkworthy and Dylan Verney were all dominant. Matt Gadsden’s experience was invaluable in the centre, particularly as Hill, Fisher and Rawlinson were all absent.  He and Luke Forato gave the ladder leaders drive, as did Ben Jakobi and Pat Liston across the centre. Nick Coroneos booted 3.5 and proved a handful for the Ashers’ defence. Facing a seven-goal deficit at the last change, Monash started the final term brightly: a goal to Nick Argento was followed by an immediate centre clearance, then Ethan East took a contested mark in the goal square and kicked truly. Michael Karayannis replied for the Tonners, pouncing on a miscommunication by two Blues defenders, and a couple of Tonners behinds were followed by another goal from East. Keegan Mason marked an errant Old Brighton defensive clearance and his long kick cleared the pack in the goal square giving the Blues one last chance at a comeback. However, Coroneos for the Tonners put that idea to bed and finished off a comfortable win for the ladder-leaders.

Mazenod is on the march, recording their second straight win with a 66-point defeat of Peninsula in the Premier C Grand Final rematch. The Nodders have jumped from 10^th to 6^th (equal 4^th), with this victory set up by five goals in the second and fourth quarters. After scoring just seven goals in the first two weeks, the Nodders have increased their goal tally each week of the season so far, with Liam Welsford (eight) and Kieran McKeogh (five) proving to be handy targets up forward. It has been a tough initiation to Premier B for the Pirates, whose four losses have been by an average of ten goals. They have been well-served so far this season by Sam Harrison, Sam Glenn, William Crowder and Alex Marshall despite their rough start to the year.

Parkdale and Old Carey met at the Vultures Nest with both teams still searching for their first win of 2017. The Vultures, bolstered by the return of Matthew Boland (six goals) and captain Tim Boland, started with a bang, kicking five goals to one and setting up a handy lead. Old Carey were unable to make up any ground on the scoreboard in the second, with both sides kicking three goals each. The Panthers came out better in the third, with goals to spearhead Morgan Evans and Sam Cust reducing the deficit early on. The Vultures replied through Alex Derzekos and Matthew Boland before Ben Smithwick got one back for the visitors. A great midfield run from Charlie Dillon and a misdirected punch from the Panther defence gave Derzekos another goal, then Evans and Cust goaled again for the Panthers. The Vultures finished the quarter off with two goals, one coming from a Matthew Boland contested mark after a huge kick inside 50 from Josh Green. The Vultures managed to keep the Panthers at bay in the last, with both sides kicking four goals, giving Parkdale their first win of the season. On the back of their loss, Old Carey finds themselves one of only two sides without a win in 2017. I’m tipping that will change when they play Peninsula in Round 5 (unless it’s a draw).