Four points between first and seventh in Premier B

Despite their ninth position on the ladder, Williamstown CYMS pushed Old Ivanhoe all the way to the final siren at Fearon Reserve, proving they’re certainly no pushover in Premier B.

The Hoers started brightly, booting three goals in five-and-a-half minutes into the wind at Fearon Reserve through Toby McLean, Nick Graham and Luke Scuderi.

That stung the home squad into action though, as Archi Manton nabbed three of his seven goals in the remainder of the first quarter to secure the CYs a quarter-time lead, before adding another two on the other side of the break to extend his squad’s advantage.

From that point on it was Old Ivanhoe on top to round out the half, contributing 13 of the game’s next 14 scoring shots with the wind at its back to take a 20-point lead into the long break – but losing Toby McLean in the process.

Williamstown booted four goals to one in the third term, wiping away the visitors’ lead and setting up an exciting finish as the sun set.

Goals to Matt Hooy and Billy Murphy had Old Ivanhoe fifteen points clear into time-on in the final term, before William Bokma and Archi Manton responded to give the CYs a chance late.

In the dying minutes, Oskar Manton left a running shot from the stoppage wide that would’ve given the home squad a late lead, Old Ivanhoe holding on to win 12.16 (88) to 13.7 (85).

It was a contested, tight arm-wrestle that Old Ivanhoe coach Jarrod Gieschen was glad to get the best of.

“We saw how well (CYs) played against Beaumaris – we were really mindful,” he said.

Harrison Reid played a run-with role on Liam Conway with aplomb, Jack Harper proved to be a valuable addition to the Hoers’ defensive unit and Nick Graham booted two goals from his half-back flank.

With no Nick Riddle or Sam Keogh behind the ball, Reed Jepson had his hands full with Archi Manton – but the Hoers’ grit and determination earned their coach’s praise.

“It’s the character that they’ve shown for a period of time now,” Gieschen said.

The CYs targeted its five-week run into the bye as crucial for on-field development, coming off a 126-point loss to Old Haileybury in Round 3. For Con Terzoglou, with one week remaining in that run, it’s a steady improve in performance, with a win over Beaumaris and a close loss to Old Ivanhoe coming in the last fortnight.

“If we can bundle up what we’ve done, make it part of our DNA and improve our consistency by ten minutes, we think we can break through to get enough wins,” he explained.

It’s been about getting as close to 100 minutes of consistent football as possible for the CYs – with two early lapses in the first half on Saturday the key periods in which Old Ivanhoe were able to wrest control.

While Terzoglou was “absolutely proud” of his squad’s ability to haul in two separate three-goal deficits before half time, he’d like to do without the comebacks in future.

“It does constantly leave you with low margins for error,” he said.

Old Trinity snapped its three-game losing skid at Glen Huntly Park, able to jump Caulfield Grammarians at the start and hold off a late charge to win by 24 points.

After a tight opening ten minutes of the game, Donald McDonald’s squad kicked four goals in nine minutes to take charge, dominating the clinches and providing the likes of Dom Payman plenty of early opportunities up forward.

It took Caulfield until the final quarter to make a significant dent in the 25-point quarter time deficit, able to reduce Old Trinity’s advantage to 11 points with ten minutes remaining in the game, but the visitors held fast to run out 15.7 (97) to 10.13 (73) victors.

Ruck Oliver Ruddock and midfielder Jono Moren were two key absentees for Guy McKenna’s squad, forcing forward Jasper Rouget into the stoppages to play one-out in the ruck.

“The competition’s so tight – we can’t give any team at any level a head start,” McKenna said.

“It was probably a lack of supply in the end – in the first quarter, we couldn’t get it down there.”

Teams have struggled with Caulfield’s forward unit – and the likes of Ingo Dammersmith (three goals), Archie Loughnan (three goals) and Julian Dobosz gave Old Trinity coach Donald McDonald some headaches.

“They’ve probably got the best forward line in the comp,” McDonald said.

Defenders Ed Weatherson and Ben Littleford were manful, while Hugo McGlashan (three goals) and Alex Emery (one goal) continued to hit the scoreboard from the midfield.

Over at Como Park, close friends and coaches Daniel Ward and Nathan Brown were pitted against each other – the latter having peeled off three successive victories at Old Geelong.

However, Old Haileybury held onto top spot in a remarkably cluttered division, responding after a scoreless first term to win 10.10 (70) to 9.4 (58)

“They jumped us at the start, it was looking pretty average at quarter time,” said Ward on Monday, his side unable to get its hands on the football at the coalface.

Without Andreas Stefanakis after his half-dozen last week, the Bloods lacked the scoring firepower, as well as the ability to get inside 50 in a two-goal first half – yet Old Geelong led by just 22 points.

From there it was the Durras Seccull show. After starting the game in the ruck, Seccull went forward, kicking four goals in the third quarter to narrow the margin to a kick at the final break, before booting another two to secure a comeback victory.

“Probably a message for the coach: don’t put your key forward in the ruck,” laughed Ward.

“He won the game for us.”

Debutant Josh Gillon paired nicely with fellow under 19s graduate Hugo Lynch down back, while on-field leaders Brede Seccull and Brodie Steele were instrumental in hauling Old Haileybury back from a five-goal deficit.

“Once they got their defence (sorted) out, we couldn’t find the scoreboard,” said Old Geelong’s Nathan Brown.

Without dominant ruck Jack Sheridan, Tim Breadmore was called upon for first ruck duties and was solid, while Liam Maiden performed ably from his wing and Michael Nicholls booted three goals.

Brown hopes to have up to four players return for a clash with Beaumaris.

De La Salle has once again found itself on the wrong side of a thriller, its three losses this season coming at a combined total of 13 points – on this occasion falling short to Old Camberwell at Waverley Oval.

“We feel like we’re a pretty fit team, and the results have shown we can run over the top of teams in the last quarter,” said Nick Hyland, his side kicking the last three goals of the game but ultimately losing 11.9 (75) to 12.6 (78).

Anson Brownless’ side was “shell-shocked” at the start of the game, but escaped early scoreboard pressure due to De La’s middling execution and conversion in the first term.

“It felt like we’d done a lot of work for not much reward,” Hyland explained.

“Really poor entries inside 50 meant we didn’t get bang for buck.”

Through the likes of Harry Veitch and James Allen, the Wellers wrest back control of the middle of the ground and interrupted De La’s swift ball movement, finding Caleb Finlayson and Liam Thomas for two second-term goals apiece and taking the lead at the long break.

From there, De La pulled the lead back to ten points late in the third but didn’t get within a kick until the dying minutes of the game, Old Camberwell able to secure possession of the ball and hold out until the final siren.

Thomas ended up with four goals for the OCs, while intercept defender Thomas Deane-Jones was outstanding for De La.

“If it hadn’t been for him, we would have found ourselves further behind,” said Hyland.

Beaumaris ensured it remained in touch with the logjam of teams between first and seventh, enjoying a 65-point win over St Bedes/Mentone Tigers.

Riley Mihailovic was best on ground, punting four goals from 21 disposals, while Riley Virtue (23 disposals, 11 clearances) and Will Nish (24 disposals) were superb.

Beaumaris will take on Old Geelong this Saturday at Banksia Reserve, with visits to Old Trinity and Old Haileybury ahead when the competition resumes on June 15th.

“A tough couple of weeks coming, but looking forward to the challenge,” coach Josh Bourke said.

Josh Cowan continued his strong year for the Tigers with 37 disposals and 10 clearances, while Jack Ferraro (4 goals from 35 disposals) was excellent.

Astoundingly, just four points separate Old Haileybury (first) from Caulfield (seventh) in a freakishly close division – with Old Ivanhoe’s clash with the Bloods likely to decide first spot going into the week off.

Second-placed Old Camberwell host Caulfield Grammarians, Williamstown CYMS will visit Old Trinity, while St Bedes/Mentone will be out for its first win of the season when it takes on De La Salle.