SKOB topple the Tonners in William Buck Premier Men’s

Last year’s runners-up made a big statement in Round 8 of William Buck Premier Men’s and will head to the bye in outright second.

St Kevin’s have provided a timely reminder of their premiership credentials with a thrilling 2-point win over the previously undefeated Old Brighton at TH King Oval.

It was the third consecutive single-digit nailbiter between the two teams and there was very little in it all afternoon.

The Tonners kicked the opening 2 goals, SKOB the next two to lead by 2 points at the first change. Old Brighton kicked 3 of the first 4 in the second term to slip out to a 2-goal break, but sure enough, SKOB responded with a couple of their own and it was the Tonners by 7 points at the half.

The visitors led by a game-high 14 points early in the third before SKOB started peppering to add 1.4 to 0.1 in 25 minutes of arm wrestling to once again close within a kick at the last change.

Goals were again at a premium in the final term – SKOB levelling the game twice before Sam Tucker put them 7 points up at the 22-minute mark. Finn Campigli responded 2.5 minutes later to make it a 1-point game.

St Kevin’s hanging on in their fourth consecutive thriller to kick a game clear in outright second, just one game behind the Tonners at the top.

Anthony Lynch (St Kevin’s): “Our group is building great belief against the best opposition and how to manage those situations.

“The weather meant the game was played in a more stoppage & contested style than probably both teams planned for, however I thought our group transitioned well from dry to wet weather footy in-game.

“I was just so proud of our boys’ second half and ability to stay engaged in the game and keep challenging the best team all the way until the final siren.”

Marcel Bruin (Old Brighton): “Good win from St Kevin’s in a really tight contest. Their dominance in the ruck was difficult to counter at times and they were very good at stoppages.

“We looked dangerous with speed on the ball to one one-on-ones Inside 50 but Kevs were able to get control across half back to counter that.

“Hamish Dick worked really hard again and debutant Mason Szonyi showed he can play at senior level.”

University Blues claimed their biggest scalp of their season, snapping Collegians’ 5-game winning streak in fine style at Harry Trott Oval.

The reigning premiers had the aid of the breeze but didn’t fully capitalise on their early dominance, booting 3.4 to 1.0 to only lead by 16 points at the first break.

Then it was all Blues in the second quarter as they piled on 5 unanswered goals and held the Lions scoreless to open up a 3-goal half-time advantage.

The third term proved to be critical as the Blues held their ground into the breeze – 2 goals apiece maintaining their lead as they turned for home with a 16-point break and the wind at their back.

The final quarter belonged to one of the season’s standouts – James Stewart – who tore the game apart with 6 goals in 13 minutes as the Blues finished with 8 for the quarter and a super impressive 38-point win to join the Lions at 5-3.

Guy Martyn (Uni Blues): “The game will be remembered for James Stewart’s six goals between the 15-and 28-minute mark of the last quarter which was amazing to watch. His influence on the game to that stage was solid without being dominant – I thought Will Pewtress had done a good job on him. But then I witnessed the best 15 minutes of football from an individual in A-Grade footy. It was phenomenal.

“That shouldn’t take away from our team performance for the three-and-a-half quarters though. We were relentless with our pressure on Collegians and managed to stifle their aggressive ball movement. Even in the first quarter when they got the better of us, work rate was still really high, we just couldn’t get the ball out of our D50 but we held on strong.”

Jordie McKenzie (Collegians): “We started reasonably well but weren’t able to capitalise. From that point on, the Blues were able to able to execute the fundamentals better and they gained the ascendency.

“We stayed in the contest and kept coming, however the Blues dominated the last 15 minutes and gained a significant lead. James Stewart showed his class and versatility with a dominant last quarter.

“Will Mayhood was terrific in his return to the senior side. Josh Walker & Nathan Boucher continued their good form in the midfield.

“We’ll take some good lessons from the weekend and look forward to another challenge against Brighton after the bye.”

Old Scotch set up their 3-goal win over Old Melburnians at Camberwell Sportsground with a dominant first half that handed them a 43-point half time lead, before OMs rallied late.

The Cardinals were in complete control through the first two quarters, stifling OM’s movement while flowing fluently themselves and a total whitewash looked to be on the cards, given it was 18 scoring shots to 5 at the major break.

OMs coach Paul Satterley challenged his players to lift at the half and they certainly responded, turning the game on its head with a scintillating 7-goal third quarter that saw them charge back to within 13 points at the final change.

But full credit to Old Scotch, who showed composure to regain control early in the last term through back-to-back goals from Ben Hays which re-established a more comfortable 27-point advantage.

OMs kept fighting, but try as they might, they couldn’t quite get close to engender panic in the Cardinals, who walked away with a 3-goal win that keeps them in touch with the Top 4.

Mark Gnatt (Old Scotch): “Our first half was very good off the back of our strong defensive actions that enabled us to transition the ball with purpose – James Tarrant, Isaac Conway and AIDAN Franetic led the way. Our latest debutant Robbie Beckworth played his role very well too.

“Full credit to OMs for their response and the pressure they put us under. It was pleasing that we were able to arrest OMs momentum and finish the match strongly ourselves.”

Paul Satterley (OMs): “Once again we didn’t fire a shot for a half of footy and the scoreboard flattered us to half time given Scotch’s dominance.

“However, I was really pleased with the fight my lads showed in the second half to get within a couple of goals. We need to build on our better effort and continue this form into Round 9.”

Old Xaverians continued their run of form, chalking up a third straight win as they virtually led St Bernards from start to finish at Toorak Park.

Ed Delany was an unstoppable force early, booting 6 of the home team’s first 7 goals as they edged out to a 22-point half-time lead in an entertaining contest.

The third quarter stepped up another gear with a combined 11 goals for the term – Old Xavs kicking 7 to 4 to open up a commanding 42-point three-quarter time advantage, thanks largely to their remarkable accuracy of 16.4.

But that accuracy completely disappeared in the last term, the home team finishing with 1.7 to 5.4 as the Snowdogs finished strong with the last 4 goals to reduce the final margin to a more respectable 21 points.

Dan Donati (Old Xavs): “The game was pretty evenly matched for most of the afternoon, we kicked very straight in the first half so made the most of our opportunities to gain ascendancy. Some great passages of play from both teams kept the game quite entertaining and thankfully we came away with the W.

“First time playing St Bernard’s for a while – was really impressed with their game style and effort, and have no doubt they’ll win plenty of games moving forward.

For our boys to chalk up three wins in a row before the bye was super important. Another strong team performance – a couple of forwards kicking 6 goals each in Ed Delany & Stirling Phipps-Parsons was great reward for effort from all.”

Steve Alessio (St Bernards): “Credit to Old Xavs today with their ball movement and scoring efficiency for most of the game. We had some good patches of play early and late in the game.

At the moment, too few are shouldering the bulk of the workload. We need a more even contribution across the board from all our players.”

The final match of the round saw University Blacks snap their 3-game losing streak with a critical win over Fitzroy at Melbourne Uni Oval.

The opening quarter was largely a grind before it opened up a little with 3 late goals that saw Blacks hold a narrow 5-point advantage at the first break.

The hosts made a move early in the second term, kicking 3 unanswered goals before the Roys stabilised and responded with a couple of their own to close back within a couple of kicks at half time.

That became a 1-goal margin when Fitzroy found the opener in the third before Blacks gained the upper hand in general play. However, their inaccuracy (2.6 to 1.1) kept the visitors in the game – the margin a gettable 23 points at three-quarter time.

The early stages of the final term were an arm wrestle before 2 goals in 3 minutes broke the game open for Blacks. The Roys kept pressing, but in the end it was the hosts collecting an invaluable 4 premiership points as they fight to remain within striking distance of the Top 4.

Dale Bower (Uni Blacks): “It was good to get back on the winners list after 3 straight losses. Our pressure and defensive game was strong, as was our ability to win our share of contest.”

Travis Ronaldson (Fitzroy): “Just were never really able to get our game going, which was frustrating.

“Showed glimpses of good footy but were 10% off for most of the day and you can’t afford that in this competition.

“After a big first eight weeks in A-Grade, the bye has come at a good time for us. Noah Wright was outstanding all day, showing plenty of run and dash. Nathan Ligris was also busy off half back. Our best footy is ahead of us and we are looking forward to the next block of games.”