Fields make it seven straight as Scotch bounce back

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Jake Morris

After falling short against Caulfield in Round 6, Old Scotch were in no mood for a repeat performance on the weekend gone, making lightwork of a wayward Uni Blacks. Elsewhere, the Fields kept their unbeaten streak alive, St Bedes/Mentone and Monash Blues both grabbed upset victories while the OGs returned to the winners list.

After an underwhelming month of football to begin the year, St Bedes/Mentone are beginning to find their groove, claiming their second win in a row and third on the year with a wire-to-wire victory over Beaumaris. With little separating the sides up until three-quarter-time, the Tigers booted the final three goals of the match to run out 16-point winners, handing them the much needed four points. Thomas Tyquin, Matt Caia and debutant Antonio Barba all kicked two majors, while James Mangoni was awarded BOG honors. The Sharks score of 7.4 (46) was the lowest total the Tigers have conceded for the year, a credit to their vastly improving back-six which now sit in fifth in the section, allowing just over 79-points a game.

Following on from their defeat at the hands of the Fields in Round 6, Old Scotch were out to right their wrongs and put the clamps on the high-powered scoring machine that is the University Blacks. Despite holding a seven-point lead as the final term began, Scotch had fewer scoring shots than their counterparts (14 v 17), with inaccurate kicking being the Blacks downfall. Despite coming up against the strongest forward structure in the league, the Cards held firm, keeping the Blacks goalless in the final term, while piling on four of their own, to run out convincing 32-point victors. Despite averaging over 119 points per game entering this matchup, the Blacks managed just 51 points in this outing, their lowest total since Round 17, 2017. The omission of league-leading goal kicking Daniel McCollough was key, but the Scotch defensive unit must garner most of the credit, a fantastic bounce-back performance. Lachlan Byrne-Jones booted four for Scotch, Josh Hasall chimed in with three, and James Sansom gained best afield honors.

Despite being outclassed by Parkdale in their last outing, Monash Blues returned to form and made it two wins in their last three as they downed Old Haileybury by 13 points. Charlie Rossetti and Mitch King were the matchwinners as they booted three apiece, while Ben Hart was named best-on as his side recorded their second win on the year. Despite entering the contest on the heels of a victory and a gallant performance against the premiership favourites in the last fortnight, the Bloods failed to capatalise on their momentum and dominance around the ball, booting just eight majors from their 24 scoring shots. This result now sees them drop to the lowest percentage of goals from scoring shots on the season, with a conversion of just under 43% (62/145). Durras Seccull was the bright-spot for Old Haileybury as he booted four and moved into equal-second on the goal-kicking tally with 17.

After dispatching Scotch last round and keeping their unbeaten record intact, premiership favourites Caulfield Grammarians once again produced an outstanding four-quarter performance, erupting from the outset and leaving the Parkdale Vultures in a daze as they capturing their seventh consecutive victory in this 80-point triumph. Despite Nathan Page and Keegan Stewart having a day out, combining for nine-majors, it was the Fields defensive juggernaut that should garner most of the praise. The Vultures score line of 4.6 (30) was the least the Fields’ have allowed so far this year, while also being the lowest total Parkdale have scored since Round 12, 2017. This was also the ninth time so far this year that the Fields have kept an opponent goalless for an entire quarter, with the first term seeing the Vultures manage just one behind.

An inspirational come-from-behind classic for Old Geelong gave them their third win on the year, downing Fitzroy by 27 points. Trailing by 11 at the final change, the OGs used a seven-goal-to-one final term to catapult themselves past the Roys’ and back into the winner’s column, claiming their most impressive victory on the year. Callum Wood kicked three for the OGs but a remarkable six-goal turnaround in the final stanza will take the headlines in this one.