OPENING DAY JITTERS

At last! 
At Last we have football. And what an opening day of matches to consume as more than 250 teams from within the VAFA took the field. Some results were shocked and some performances outstanding but this is how the cards fell after the opening day of 2013. 
In the Inner FM broadcast match of the day Old Carey hosted reigning premiers Collegians and is was business as usual for the champs as they ran out 26 point winners with new jey forward Dylan Chaplin-Burch booting 5 goals. Old Scotch held off Uni Blues with a determined performance at University Oval to win by 27 points. In the surprise result of the day Beaumaris made a welcome to Premier Section football statement like no other as they brushed aside St Bedes/Mentone Tigers by an outrageous 121 points. Boyd booted 8 goals for the Sharks as the Tigers didn’t kick a goal after half time. Uni Blacks trailed for most of the day but were in front when it mattered most with recruit Broc McCauley booting the winnng goal to see the Blacks roll St Bernard’s by 3 points. Four goals each to Pickett, Roberts and Seb Gotch saw De La Salle do a number on Old Xaverians by 10 points in a classic at Toorak Park. 
In Premier B it was all about the margins. They were huge! Ezra poyas booted five goals on debut for AJAX in their 93 point win over Premier B newbies Fitzroy. Old Trinity made a statement in their 98 point annihilation of Old Melburnians, 12 OT’s players getting on the scoresheet. Old Brighton dished out another ugly welcome to Premier B result when they accounted for Parkdale Vultures by 91 points, Anthony with 8 goals for the winners. Out west it was Old Haileybury making their own statement with an 80 point thumping of Werribee. The only close one was at Caulfield where the visiting St Kevin’s Old Boys rolled the Grammarians by 25 points. 
In 2012 Premier C was the closest fought section and all indications from round 1 are that we could be in for a repeat. Marcellin reversed their finals loss to Mazenod by ruining the Nodder’s new ground celebrations by 10 points. Monash Blues made a great start to their second chance in the section with a nine point win over Old Ivanhoe. PEGS held off Old Camberwell by seven points in another close one. The biggest margin was at Peninsula where the Pirates reversed the Grand Final result against NOBs/St Pat’s with a 64 point win, Payze kicking 8 goals in the triumph. Oakleigh and Banyule play tomorrow at Warrawee Park.
Bulleen Templestowe returned to Division 1 in style with a big 31 point win over one of the Division favourites Whitefriars. With Voglis booting six for the Bullants. Wood and Kitchen both bagged five for Old Geelong as they handed a hiding to Glen Eira winning by 114 points. Hampton Rovers and Ormond had a classic neighbourly batter with Rovers holding firm to win by 23 points. Prahran Assumption suggested they will be a good side in this section too, with a 15 point win over MHSOB. Christoforo nailed five majors for the two blues. The day’s closest margin was two points with Old Mentonians holding off Williamstown in a thriller at Mentone Grammar. Ben Robertson kicked seven goals for the Panthers. 
South Melbourne Districts led for large periods but were beaten by Old Eltham by  31 points thanks to Ciavola’s eight goals. Yarra Valley  gave indications of a strong season with a Savage (6 goals) inspired 38 point win over Emmaus St Leo’s. Ivanhoe also made a great start in Division 2 with a 7 point win over Therry Penola, with 2012 centurion goalkicker Ash Close on target with half a dozen goals. Old Paradians beat Monash Gryphons by two goals, whislt St Mar’s Salesian account for St John’s by nine goals. 
In Division 3, Kew got off to the best possible start with a thumping 116 point win over Old Westbourne with spearhead Brazzale nailing 6 goals. Aquinas showed their credentials with a 41 point win over La Trobe Uni, Williams with seven majors for the winners. Elsternwick also dented the Snakes morale with a 26 point win over Richmond Central. UHS-VU were too good for Albert Park, with Kirk kicking 7 in the 45 point triumph. Another classic encounter between South Mornington and Swinburne Uni saw the Tigers again end up on the winning side, this time it was for just four points, but a seven point win is a great start to their first campaign at this level. A 28 point win to St Francis Xavier over Power House rounded out the section. 
It was a day of firsts in Division 4. Dragons made their debut in the competition at Hawthorn, but it wasn’t a fairy tale, the Hawks’ Brown helping his side to an 11 point win with five goals to his name. Eley Park Sharks showed reason for being considered amongst the favourites of the Division with a 34 point win over West Brunswick. Five Roberts goals helped Mt Lilydale get off to a 39 point winning start against Box Hill North. Northern Blues played their first official senior match in the VAFA and they won it creating the fairytale the Dragons couldn’t. Blues knocking over North Brunswick by 10 points, Scott bagged half a dozen for the winners with Notaro and Gallagher’s five each not enough for the vanquished. Point Cook  unveiled their new ground and celebrated with a 148 point belting of Chadstone.  Munn kicked eight goals for the winning team.