OGS finds winning ways as Sharks produce their biggest win

Josh Heriot

It was a round of mixed results across the board for Premier B but both Fitzroy and St Bernard’s remain unbeaten for the season. Meanwhile St Bedes/Mentone Tigers were able to snatch a victory to stay in reaching distance of the top teams.

The largest win of the weekend went to Beaumaris who pulled away to win by 137 points against Monash Blues. It’s the highest score kicked by a team this season in Premier B with the Sharks scoring 27 goals from 12 individual goal kickers. James Freeman had a satisfying day down forward with seven goals while Joseph Nowell booted home five majors. Callum Heath backed up his tremendous form of recent weeks to finish as the Sharks best player as he too kicked a major. The Sharks have now only dropped the one game to St Bernard’s but sit comfortably in third position with this win acting as a healthy percentage booster. For Monash Blues, Mitch King was able to show some fight as he kicked three goals as well as being named their best player.

On what was a special day for St Bernard’s, they were able to celebrate their 60^th year in the VAFA competition with smiles as they defeated Old Trinity to the tune of 66 points. The Snowdog’s came out firing kicking five goals to win in the first quarter before Trinity were able to hit back in the second quarter with six goals to cut a margin back to 17 points. However, the third quarter saw the game creep into the hands of the Snowdog’s keeping Trinity goalless. Ben Huggard continued to hit his top form with a best on ground performance and two majors with Fergus McNicol providing service up forward to finish with four goals. Oliver Scott for Trinity was again their best player with Dominic Payman not far behind him with three goals.

Fitzroy have also continued their unbeaten streak as they defeated AJAX by 43 points. It’s been a rough start to the season for AJAX having played both undefeated teams already as well as Old Geelong and St Bedes/Mentone in the opening six rounds of footy. Fitzroy were able to kick clear in the final quarter, but AJAX fought on valiantly. The margin was only one point a quarter time as AJAX matched the Roys with four goals each, but they just couldn’t stick with them during the second half. Charlie Faubel and Luke Baker were strong up forward for the Roys with three goals each while Max Ellis was named Fitzroy’s best player. For AJAX Ben Krongold was once again competitive with two majors and Charles Hamilton also showed fight as he was named their best player.

Meanwhile St Bedes/Mentone were able to secure their third win of the season against De La Salle in what was a competitive game. The Tigers trailed at half time by eight points but were able to stifle the De La Salle attack in the third quarter to restrict them to two goals and edge clear by 16 points at the final break. The last quarter saw the Tigers kick just one goal, but it was enough for them to pull away with the win. Ben Murphy was able to hit the scoreboard with three goals while Michael Barnes was able to assist with two goals and a best on ground display. For De La Salle, Sam Williams and Liam Murphy were both impressive and helped keep them in the game.

The final game of the round saw Old Geelong pull through to win by just five points against Williamstown CYMS. Geelong had to win the hard way as they came from behind after trailing at three quarter time by 16 points. Its now their third consecutive win as they stay a game clear of De La Salle in fourth position. Impressively its also the fourth time they have kicked over 100 points and on all four occasions they have come away winners. Mickey Nicholls continued his superb year with another three goals for the season bringing his season goal total to 15 while Sam Barnett booted three goals also to progress his total to 14 goals this season. Scott Dixon was Old Geelong’s best player as they continue to shine with their offensive game and attack in the forward line.

This weekend will see quality matchups across the board with the first game of the round to feature AJAX up against Monash Blues. One team will walk away with their first win of the season, and it’s tipped to be a tight tussle between these two sides. Williamstown have also found a patch of form which saw them get their first win in round five and go right to the line against Old Geelong. This week their challenge will be De La Salle who are looking to respond after their loss to the Tigers. Meanwhile St Bernard’s will travel out to Geelong College to take on Old Geelong with the Snowdog’s looking to maintain their perfect streak to start the season. Old Trinity will welcome St Bedes/Mentone which will be a close contest considering these two sides sit sixth and seventh respectively. But the biggest game of the weekend will feature ladder leaders Fitzroy up against their toughest challenge yet, Beaumaris, as the Sharks look to snap up their sixth win this season.