Tonners toppled as Top 4 tightens in William Buck Premier Men’s

The ladder-leaders suffered their second loss while the reigning champions kept their finals hopes alive with a stirring final-quarter comeback.

Old Scotch confirmed their premiership credentials by powering away to an imposing win over pace-setters Old Brighton at Camberwell Sportsground.

It was another slow start for the Cardinals, who conceded 6 opening quarter goals to trail by 20 points at the first change, before responding with a 5-goal second term to get back within 3 points at the half despite losing spearhead James Tarrant to a hamstring injury.

The Cards continued to press in the third, finding multiple avenues to goal to boot 4 to 2 and lead by a kick at the final change of a highly entertaining contest.

They seized control with the first 3 goals of the final term to ultimately post an eye-catching 25-point victory that sets up another blockbuster challenge against St Kevin’s at TH King Oval this Saturday.

Mark Gnatt (Old Scotch): “It was a great game of Amateur football and both sides had their moments throughout the match.

“Brighton got the jump on us early and it was great to see our boys respond positively and we felt we were well in the game at quarter-time. From there it was a real arm wrestle and the physicality around the contest was a highlight.

“Will Clark was brilliant for 4-quarters and gave our mids first use, which was pivotal. Dougie Lawrence led strongly all day and with the midfield bulls of Jelbart, Easton, Lipscombe and Franetic – our leaders really stood up.

“Then with the youth and energy of Badr, Allen, Thomson and Beckworth to name a few, it was a good old fashioned team effort. There is strong belief in this group and we look forward to another challenge this Saturday.”

Marcel Bruin (Old Brighton): “Great game of footy, clean and quick and physical. We wanted to get off to a great start and we were pretty slick through the first quarter, defended well and could score effectively.

“Scotch got control at stoppages and got clean ball to the outside where their forwards were really dangerous. They defended our entries well and limited potential scoring opportunities.

“Lots to review and learn from but another really terrific performance from Jonah Campigli who competed strongly all day and Quintin Montanaro was the best of our backs.”

Reigning premiers Collegians had to dig deep to secure a must-win game at the Snake Pit over St Bernard’s.

The Lions peppered early but failed to finish their work, which left them trailing 1.5 to 2.2 at the first change.

The second term saw multiple lead changes before Charlie Vague’s goal in time-on handed the Snowdogs a 5-point half-time lead.

Excluding 2 goals in a minute from the Lions, the home team had the better of the third term, with 6 scoring shots to 3 handing them a 13-point lead at the last change as Collegians’ season hung by a thread.

The early stages of the final term were a stalemate before the Lions found another gear to boot 3 goals in 6.5 minutes to hit the front. The Snowdogs responded to tie the game up before Collegians added another 3 goals in time-on.

An impressive 6-goal-to-1 final quarter earning the Lions a critical 17-point win to celebrate premiership half-back Luke McCleary’s 100^th game in style.

Jordie McKenzie (Collegians): “A really hard-fought spirited win. St Bernard’s are always hard to beat at the Snake Pit, and for the 2nd and 3rd quarters, they were the better side. They were able to get on top of the clearance and contested battle.

“Our last quarter was terrific. The boys wrestled back the momentum around the contest, and we were able to utilise our speed with some quick ball movement.

“Will Pewtress was instrumental. He played a solid game down back but then turned the game with his hardness and speed in the midfield during the last quarter. Luke McCleary was terrific in his 100th game and Eddie King played his best game for the club.”

Steve Alessio (St Bernard’s): “Great finish by Jordie McKenzie’s men after a real arm wrestle for the first 3 quarters. We had a real thirst for the contest and unfortunately, which has been the case on a number of occasions this season, we haven’t been able to finish off our solid work.

“Great to see our mids in Ben Overman & Charlie Vague continue their great form all season accompanied by a couple of younger players in Luke Said and Luca Alessio who fought hard all day.”

The jostling to avoid relegation continued at Melbourne University Oval as University Blacks got the better of Old Melburnians and leapfrogged them out of the drop zone.

Blacks entered on a 5-game losing streak so a good start was critical for their confidence as they kicked the first 3 goals of the game and settled into the contest to lead by 11 points at the first break.

2 goals apiece in the second term saw the margin hover around the teens all quarter – the hosts by 13 at the half, thanks to 3 first-half goals from Matthew Grocott.

OMs responded with 2 goals in 2 minutes early in the third term to close within a point as the game tightened into an arm-wrestle for the next 20 minutes before Blacks booted 2 goals in time-on to once again kick away to a 13-point lead.

OMs weren’t done yet and slotted the opening two goals of the last quarter to surge back within a couple of points once again.

It was a 3-point game entering time-on before Grocott’s fifth goal settled Blacks and they’d add two more to ultimately post a 4-goal win that elevates them over OMs by half-a-game with 4 to play.

Dale Bower (Uni Blacks): “We were back to our competitive high-pressure best. We executed the game we wanted. The boys brought great effort for 4 quarters. A massive challenge still lays ahead, we will embrace the challenge and give it everything we have in the remaining 4 games.”

Paul Satterley (OMs): “Full credit to Blacks who applied pressure all day and their tackling & 1% type efforts were at a premium.

“From our end, our lads were super brave and despite being 3 players down by half time still rallied to stay in the game right to the end.

“A huge game awaits us this week at our home ground versus Fitzroy and we can’t wait.”

Old Xaverians sent a message to the rest of the competition with a 99-point demolition of University Blues at Toorak Park.

Led by their powerful midfield which has been super-charged by the arrival of Dan Hannebery and Denis Symeopoulos, Xavs rocketed out of the blocks with 11 scores to 2 to lead by 29 points at the opening change.

An incredible 9-goal second term from the hosts saw the statisticians hunting for their record books as Xavs led by 86 points at the main break, with a dominant midfield feeding their dangerous forward line.

Credit to the Blues, who regrouped at the main break and broke even with 2 goals apiece in the third quarter before Xavs added 4 goals to 2 in the last to finish off a percentage-boosting 99-point win – their fourth in a row as they suddenly shape as a legitimate premiership contender.

That percentage boost could prove critical, given Xavs now hold a one game plus almost 12% advantage over Collegians in the race for fourth spot – so effectively 2 games.

Uni Blues now sit in limbo mid-table at 6-8 as the only team in the competition who is not in either of the finals or relegation races.

Dan Donati (Old Xavs): “We were pretty focused and locked into this game after a hard-fought win last week. We expected a tough battle, knowing Blues needed a win to keep their hopes alive.

“The first half couldn’t have gone much better for us. We managed to control the territory, get our hands on the footy first and give our forwards plenty of looks to convert.

“It’s worth noting that Blues were without a number of their stars and they’ve had to battle ins and outs over the last month or so, which is always a challenge.

“But obviously super pleased for my boys to get another important W locked away and play the way that we did. We had a very even contribution from each line, but it was particularly great to see Charlie MacIsaac and the forwards get some reward for the hard work they’ve been putting in.”

Guy Martyn (Uni Blues): “The most dominant half of footy I can remember watching – unfortunately we were on the receiving end of it.

“We knew it would be tough given the experience on the sidelines for us at the moment, but that was absolutely dominant. We obviously allowed it to happen but that was really impressive from Xavs – their midfield was really humming on Saturday.

“A better second half from us, however, far too little and way too late.”

The final match of the round saw St Kevin’s extend their lead at every change against Fitzroy at Brunswick Street Oval.

SKOB, who are still dealing with the serious injury battles being fought by team-mate Michael Pisker, got away to a good start with 2 goals in the opening 5 minutes before the Roys settled into the contest to break even for the rest of the term.

The hosts reduced the margin to 9 points with the opening goal of the second quarter before the visitors stepped it up, posting the next 7 scores to kick away to a 6-goal lead. The Roys hit back with two goals in time-on before a late SKOB goal gave them a comfortable 5-goal advantage at the main break.

The third term was tighter – St Kevin’s adding 3 goals to 1 to extend the margin to 41 points at the last change, before a withering burst delivered 6 goals in 13.5 minutes to blow the final margin out to 73 points. SKOB now within half-a-game of the Tonners in the race for the minor premiership.

Anthony Lynch (St Kevin’s): “I was really pleased with the way our boys performed over the 4 quarters. It was a big day for Fitzroy as a club so we knew they would want to perform. We tried to remain focused on our job and I thought it was a really professional display.

“We defended as a connected team and I thought we tested them with our offence. We are at our best when it’s an even team contribution and that’s what it was again this week.”

Travis Ronaldson (Fitzroy): “It was a great test for us against a side that’s gearing up for finals footy. We competed well but were our own worst enemy and turned the ball over too often in dangerous spots.

“Our backline led the way with Darcy Lowrie and Jock Green performing well despite a heavy Inside 50 count. It was also pleasing to see Marcel Laidlaw return to some form in the midfield.

“We have played three of the top four sides in the past three weeks which has given us plenty of opportunities for learning and improvement. We are looking forward to the run home and finishing the season strongly.”