Finals, relegation well & truly alive in William Buck Premier

Nick Armistead – @NickArmistead

Two rounds remain in William Buck Premier and we can expect some of the very best VAFA football over the next fortnight with three teams battling it out for the last top four position and four still in the relegation zone.

While the finals fight is down to De La Salle, Old Melburnians and Old Xaverians, it is at the other end of the ladder where sparks will certainly fly as Beaumaris, University Blacks, Old Trinity and even St Bedes/Mentone Tigers fight to avoid a trip down to Premier B.

As it stands, Beaumaris (10^th) and Uni Blacks (9^th) occupy the bottom two places on 12 points each, while Old Trinity’s upset win over Xavs gives them a one-game buffer in eighth. Although unlikely to fall two spots over the next two weeks, mathematically, the Tigers (7^th) are still capable of suffering relegation should they lose their next two and those below them taste victory twice.

Trinity’s 23-point victory over Xavs snapped a lengthy nine-game losing streak for the 2015-16 grand finalists as they pieced together their most complete performance we’ve seen in three months. After an even first term, the T’s – who were led by Anthony Scott and Brendan Iezzi – kicked six goals to two across the second and third terms before the Xavs lifted with five goals to four in the last term but were ultimately put to bed when Jake Walsh tumbled a goal home late. Seb Nicolosi kicked a goal in every quarter for the T’s while Tom Williams and Matt Handley led the way for the Xavs. It was Luke Pacconi and Iezzi’s first win as coaches of the club and the belief Trinity will avoid relegation is now real. As for Xavs, the loss seriously dents their chances of back-to-back finals series as they now sit sixth and a game and a half behind De La. They have must-wins against Blacks this weekend and Collegians in Round 18, but it will be interesting to see how the Blues turn up against De La in the last week of the home and away season. Who would you rather play in week one of the finals?

Blacks and Beaumaris went toe-to-toe for the length of the match with the Sharks claiming their second win in the past three rounds by just six points at Banksia Reserve. The repercussions of this result are enormous as it now opens the bottom four up – albeit unlikely to change too much over the next two weeks – as the Sharks have given themselves the slightest sniff of avoiding relegation. If nothing else, they are certainly the form side of the bottom quartet. Led by a five-goal haul from Stephen Milne, the Sharks were in front at every break throughout the day and held off the Blacks when they came home with six of the last 11 goals. As mentioned above, the Blacks will have to deal with Xavs this weekend but are every chance to claim their first win in six rounds at the Uni Oval if the claret and stout fail to recapture their form from three weeks ago when they dismantled the Tigers. The Sharks will host the Blues and will likely go down but if their form continues and they can snatch an upset win, their Round 18 derby against the Tigers will be the biggest game this year.

The fourth leg of the race against relegation is the Tigers after they fell to Old Melburnians by 72 points at Sportscover Arena. After an even first term where just two points separated the sides, OM’s exploded with 18 of the next 26 goals as the Tigers struggled to find an answer to the onslaught. The Tigers have now lost three in a row and four their past five. They sit a game and a half clear of the bottom two but play a SKOB outfit coming off a loss to the Blues this weekend and will face the Sharks in Round 18. As we know, anything can happen in Round 18. OMs have given themselves a chance of claiming an unlikely finals berth as they now sit fifth on the ladder but six points behind De La. However, if OMs can knock off De La in this week’s 96.5 Inner FM Match of the Round, they then need to take care of Trinity in Round 18 while De La do battle with the Blues.

De La were unbelievably close to deciding the four this past weekend but couldn’t hold on as Collegians ran over the top for an eight-point win. The Lions trailed by as much as 24 points at half time but nine goals to four in the final two terms helped the home side solidify their 12^th win. Fraser Cameron was the star for the Lions with three goals strengthening his Rising Star claim, while Tom Humphrey and Jake Williams were the best for De La. While the Lions are more-or-less safe in second spot, it was a devastating blow for De La given they now have clashes against OMs and Uni Blues. If they beat OMs, they play finals. If they lose, they must defeat a Uni Blues outfit who just knocked off SKOB. Rest assured they will be doing everything within their power to get the win against the Redlegs.

While all this was happening, SKOB and Uni Blues faced off in what could be a finals preview, with the Blues proving too strong and running out 44-point winners at Uni Oval. It was just SKOB’s first loss in 10 weeks but it was convincing. Nine of the first 11 goals paved the way for the Blues’ outstanding win as Jeremy Taylor continued his elite form with four goals in a best-on-ground display. Michael Di Natale was outstanding for SKOB and Steven Salopek impressed. The Blues have now solidified third spot on the ladder while SKOB remain numero uno. How much you can take out of this result remains to be seen, but the Blues will certainly be far more confident heading into September action.

Feature photo: Ari Hatzis