Gryphons dispel myths, Bloods re-open Div 3 account

Michael Davey

A near perfect sunny Saturday arvo saw many supporters roll up to the season opener to get a healthy dose of vitamin D3.

An idyllic Melbourne Autumn day provided a perfect backdrop for the opening round of the VAFA 2018 season. The sunny conditions called for hats and sunscreen, rather than beanies and liniment, but no doubt there’ll be plenty of days that will require the latter as the season progresses. Attendances were good, with supporters turning out in droves for a healthy dose of vitamin D3.

Each venue did their groundskeeper’s proud, and by looking at the picture-perfect ovals, you’d have never guessed that Melbourne received little-or-no rain in February and March. The Packer Park was the pick, and it yielded a bounty of Gryphons’ goals in both grades.

The season opener also saw the other unsung heroes deliberate with aplomb. The ample sunshine and lack of wind ensured the squinty-eyed goal umpires used plenty of ink on the scorecards, while the hard running boundary umps worked up a sweat and needed plenty of hydration. Overseeing the day’s proceedings, the field umpires didn’t miss a beat, confidently keeping pace with some very fast-moving games. While they’re all fit and well versed, there’s no doubt that all got an excellent workout, and will take a longer recovery.

The ideal conditions saw free-flowing footy and some excellent high marking and the scoreboards were ticking over. Any errant kicking can put be put down to rustiness, lack of match practice, and match fitness, combined with fatigue in the unseasonably warm conditions. The sharpshooters had a day to remember, with a few names sharing the top of leader board with bags of 7.

Round 1 saw an unusually high number of players make their club debuts. After wins by Canterbury, Glen Eira and Hawthorn, there were seemingly more players singing the club-song inside their ring, than there were on the outside. Congrats to all debutants, may you have long and enjoyable careers with your clubs.

History was made at the Vein, where Aquinas fielded their first Women’s team. There were some good signs, and they’ll derive great benefit from their serious hit out. More club history followed, when in between two resounding wins over Albert Park Falcons, when the Bloods hoisted an impressive pair of VAFA 125^th Anniversary 2017 Division 4 Seniors’ and Reserves’ flags.

Like the flagpole, the Falcons strained under the pressure of both flag winning teams, who continued their on their 2017 winning ways. Both Bloods teams handled the rise to D3 well, and can look forward to exciting seasons ahead.

Despite the efforts of Albert Park’s Tyson Cattle, the Bloods’ midfield dominated the day, with Lachlan McDonald Jonathan Kerr and Anthony Mattioli all getting plenty of the ball. Aquinas’ main goal kickers were also among the best players, with the spoils shared by Ashley Naulty 7, Jesse Butcher 6, Michael Di Donato and Lachlan Naulty nabbing 4 goals each. Falcon’s full-forward Josh Beets offered plenty up forward, but his kicking (2.8) let him down. It’s fair to say he’ll be practicing his shots for goal this week. While Aquinas had two big wins, it will be the sight of 2 VAFA premiership flags flying at the Vein that will leave an indelible mark in the memory of the many Bloods fans who witnessed one of the club’s proudest days.

A Gryphon is “a mythical creature with the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion”. Two lion hearted Glen Eira teams had huge wins over Latrobe Uni on a picture-perfect Packer Park. In doing so, they dispelled any myths about them being the team to beat in Division 3 this year.

The sun was shining, and the Gryphons look to have a bright future after blooding 9 debutants and winning by 197 points. In a lopsided affair, the evergreen Julius Waras Carstensen kicked 7 goals, as a rampant Lachlan Pound relentlessly pumped the footy inside the forward 50.

Hard nut Timothy Dobson troubled the visitors all day finishing with 5 goals whilst on-ballers Ryan Cohen and Jessie Maxfield gathered a plethora of possessions. Nathan Dennis and Kye Cherian thwarted LaTrobe’s forward forays to turn defence into attack at every opportunity. Mooney, McClintock and Tomada battled all day for the outclassed LaTrobe. The Trobers can take heart knowing they played their best football in the last quarter, and they wont be the only team the Gryphons get hold of this year.

Canterbury hosted Swinburne in front of a good crowd at Surrey Hills. It was level pegging in the first quarter, before the Cobras kicked 3 late-term majors. They carried the momentum into the second, with a few early goals, and then kept edging ahead all afternoon winning each quarter. Best afield was Astbury, with 7 goals, while Szabo chipped in with 4 majors.

The scoreboard pressure took its toll on a young Swinburne side, which fielded a lot of debutants. Best for the Razorbacks were Richard Lugg, Daniel Close and Hayden Glass (half full) and things will improve as the team starts to gel.

In an interesting twist, new Swinburne Coach Tony Rowe was pitted against his son Jake, who lined up for Canterbury – Jake had a win and snagged a goal, giving him bragging rights for the next nine weeks!

In what promised to be a close game, Westbourne Grammarians travelled to Rathmines Road to do battle with Hawthorn. Both teams produced quick, exciting brands of football, but it was the Hawks who withstood a very good Old Westbourne in the first quarter, and importantly converted their chances. Hawthorn’s accuracy in front of goal saw them flattered by the scoreboard kicking 10 unanswered first half goals. In contrast, their wayward opponents could only manage 10 behinds, and trailed by 10 goals at half time.

The Grammarians would rue their poor goal kicking in the first half, which proved very costly. To their credit the Grammarians bounced back to outscore the Hawks in the second half, but the horse had bolted. The high temperatures and the hard ground saw players cramping and jarring up. Catch up footy is hard at the best of times, particularly on a day where Michael Tuck might wear short sleeves.

When the Hawk’s sang their club song, they had 9 players stretched on the outside of the circle and 13 huddled inside. Hawthorn’s best players were Brodie Johnston, Justin Raiti, and Rick Ogge who nabbed 7 goals, Aaron Downie 4 goals. For the Grammarian O’Brien, and Captain Culliver, battled hard all day, with Eqbal and Bahtiri contributing 5 and 4 second half goals respectively.

Across the river at KB Reserve, a well-organised Richmond Central outfit accounted for a gallant Manningham Cobras team by 38 points. Centrals had the better of first quarter, before the boys from Bulleen bounced back in the second, to be 8 points adrift at the main break. A fitter, more experienced Richmond team won the game in the third quarter, overrunning their opponents with a 7 goals to 1 term.

The newly promoted Manningham Cobras didn’t lie down, and outscored their opponents and in the last quarter, signalling to their supporters that they’ll be competitive in D3. Richmond Centrals shared the goals around, with Bowen bagging 5 to be amongst the best, along with Lammeretz, Rivers, King, Foott and Rivett. Cobras forwards Ben Baltruweit and Kane Maghamez were lively around goals with 3 apiece, Adam Piano was tireless in the mid-field and Nick Zappala and Matt Colvin solid in defence.

Lets hope the fine weather and free flowing footy hold for another couple of weeks, and the fans keep turning up for more vitamin D3.