Williamstown off the mark, Bloods salute in Paul’s 200th

Six Premier B sides sit at 4-2 after six weeks of football, with Old Haileybury nabbing top spot, on percentage, with a 56-point win over Caulfield Grammarians.

Leading by 12 points at the long break in Caulfield, the Bloods played some of their finest football in the third term, punting 8.2 (50) to 0.2 (2) and effectively killing the contest in former captain James Paul’s 200th game.

“James has been fantastic for our footy club,” said coach Daniel Ward. James’ dad Roger – who himself played 200 games for the club – gave a stirring address to the playing group pre-game on what Old Haileybury means to the wider Paul family.

The 31-year-old was typically solid for the Bloods in his milestone match, even finding a way to get in on the scoring act as part of Old Haileybury’s third quarter romp. “I said to the boys on the sideline, ‘I’ve got to try and orchestrate getting him a goal in the last quarter’,” explained Ward.

As the coach was planning his move late in the third quarter, Paul duly cut off a kick inside forward 50 and kicked the seventh goal of the quarter for his side – subsequently disappearing from view under a pack of celebrating teammates.

Andreas Stefanakis, fresh off some solid VFL form for the Box Hill Hawks, proved to be a handful for Caulfield’s defence, punting seven goals in the 15.14 (104) to 6.12 (48) win.

Grammarians coach Guy McKenna said his side’s third term was “the worst (quarter) we’ve played so far,” and will look to re-energise a group that had won its last three games prior to Round 6. “We just backed off our intensity around the ball,” said McKenna of the third term. “You lose the contested footy, you lose the inside 50s – and I think we got doubled.”

Team defence will be the focus for Caulfield this week, while spearhead Julian Dobosz had numerous opportunities in front of goal but could only manage the one major.

At Fearon Reserve, Williamstown CYMS broke through for its first win of the 2024 season, making the most of blustery conditions to take down Beaumaris 18.11 (119) to 10.10 (70).

Archi Manton was sensational with seven goals – but it was his work to bring his teammates into the game that caught the eye of coach Con Terzoglou.

“He’s a strong, intimidating character because of his size and strength, but he has a gentle side to him,” said Terzoglou of Manton’s focus on bringing his fellow forwards into the game – particularly debutant Ralph Cunneen, who scored a goal on debut. “(It) doesn’t get recognised, but that’s what we talk about internally.”

Manton (Port Melbourne) and Liam Conway (Williamstown) add valuable VFL experience to the young CYs group – they too are just starting their senior footballing careers and have spent much of their junior careers around this CYs team.

Since their Round 3 loss to Haileybury, Terzoglou’s side has shown mettle – this week able to put a poor first quarter to take advantage of the windy conditions, turning a 17-point quarter time deficit into a 19-point lead by half time.

From there, the CYs “battened down the hatches,” retaining the lead at the final break, then booting nine goals to three in the last – five of their majors coming after the 25-minute mark.

Terzoglou’s 2024 account is open – but he’s intent on consistent messaging to his group. “We didn’t panic too much with a few losses early, and we’ve not solved the world’s problems with one win either.”

Beaumaris coach Josh Bourke will be hoping for some reinforcements, with just five members of last year’s preliminary final side available to him on Saturday. “We don’t do excuses, and certainly expect better effort moving forward,” he said. “They’re a great bunch of kids and I know they will respond.”

Old Geelong has now won three games on the bounce after a 1-2 start to the season, conversely handing Old Trinity a three-game losing skid at Daley Oval.

After a three-and-zip start, Donald McDonald’s squad has a bit of work to do, now sitting seventh between the pack of six teams with 4-2 records and Beaumaris in eighth at 2-4. “We just haven’t been able to kick that six or seven-goal quarter, whereas the opposition have been able to put that quarter on us,” McDonald said.

Old Geelong leapt to the front with a six-goal-to-two first quarter but were reigned in and trailed by three-quarter-time, having kicked just the one goal across the middle quarters.

Nathan Brown’s team dug deep in the last however, able to create repeat opportunities and convert scoring chances – goals to Tom Furphy, Will Simson, Michael Nicholls and Sam Barnett enough to see Old Geelong home 11.6 (72) to 8.7 (55).

Brown lauded his on-field leaders – the likes of Jack Sheridan, TIm Jones, William Horsfall, Sam Barnett and Matt Bird. Sheridan’s day in the ruck was particularly impressive: 20 disposals, 11 clearances, 51 hit outs and 6 inside 50s. “We’re so lucky to have him at the footy club. He’s been so consistent for so long,” Brown said.

Old Ivanhoe caught a case of the speed wobbles at home, shut down by an in-form De La Salle side in a defensive affair that yielded just two goals between the sides to half time.

Faced with a few key outs, Old Ivanhoe coach Jarrod Giechen focused on creating a high-pressure, intense game of football centred around the contest at Chelsworth Park.

This was a fortunate development for De La midfielder Christian Algeri, who recorded 39 disposals – 19 of them contested – with 9 clearances, 8 tackles and (most importantly in a low-scoring game) 3 goals.

The visitors kicked eight goals to one after half time, winning 10.14 (78) to 2.8 (20) to secure second spot on percentage.

De La coach Nick Hyland was impressed with his squad’s ability to play four quarters of high-pressure football but wants to see amendments made to “inconsistency with our efforts”.

Spearhead Nathan Scollo was kept to just one goal by Reed Jepson – but Hyland noted how he was able to at least halve aerial contest and get his other forwards involved at ground level. “We feel like we’ve got a lot of avenues to goal – it’s been Scollo’s turn in recent weeks, but he was able to create other opportunities for goals on the weekend,” he said.

Finally, St Bedes/Mentone Tigers remained winless in its match-up with Old Camberwell, bringing a physical inside game but committing costly turnovers in critical positions. After an even start to proceedings, the Wellers broke the game open with late second-quarter goals to James Allen and Jay Kennedy-Harris, establishing a 22-point half time buffer and setting St Bedes/Mentone a tall order in the second half

Old Camberwell then kicked five of the first six goals in the third term, taking a 47-point lead and effectively killing the contest, eventually running out 10.12 (72) to 5.9 (39) winners.

Kellan Percy continued his mighty year from the last line, while half back Will Dalrymple (23 disposals, 8 rebound 50s) provided plenty of energy from Old Camberwell’s defence.

Allen (38 disposals) and Harrison Veitch (28 disposals) won 20 clearances between them in a dominant contested display, with “highly unexpected turnovers” costing the Tigers dearly. “We’re doing a lot right in terms of building something, but at some stage we’ve got to start ticking some wins over,” said Tigers coach Brad Berry.

Zac Calvez – “the rock of Gilbrator,” Berry says – was super with 22 disposals, 10 marks and 13 intercepts, while Melbourne Category B Rookie Kyah Farris-White was impressive again in a battle with a three-pronged Old Camberwell ruck rotation: Gus Milham, Liam Thomas and Garnet Brennan. ”He’s starting to take some around the ground marks – I think that’s where he’s going to cause damage,” Berry said.

For Anson Brownless, it’s a spot third on the ladder with a meeting set with second-placed De La Salle this Saturday. “You can’t just go into that game with no plan…you need to be so well prepared,” Brownless said.

Considering the tightness of the competition, a win could see either side jump into first – a loss could mean a tumble to as low as seventh. St Bedes / Mentone will hunt its first win of the year at Banksia Reserve against the Sharks while Caulfield and Old Trinity will both look to rebound when they meet at Glen Huntly Park.

Great mates Nathan Brown and Nick Hyland will coach against each other at Como Park when Old Geelong host Old Haileybury – in what promises to be a ripper between two in-form team, while Williamstown CYMS will look to double down when they host Old Ivanhoe.