John Donohoe
@jdonohoe12
Uni Blacks and De La Salle battled it out at Crawford oval and it was a tight opening term that saw the home side take the lead by 6pts at quarter time. De La responded in the second term kicking 5 goals to 1 and went in at the main break with a 17 point lead. Uni Blacks never gave up and pegged the margin back slightly at three quarter. Blacks kicked 4 goals to 2 in the last quarter but were unable to get over the line, falling agonisingly short and losing by 8 points. Griechen kicked 3 for De La, while Vawser continues to have a stellar season and was best afield again. Parker, Boyle, Sheahan and McDonald were handy for the Blacks, each kicking 2 goals, while Harry Allen was outstanding for the home side.
Beaumaris had no trouble accounting for the hapless Old Melburnians at Banksia reserve, a 13 goal to 0 first half set up their 23 goal win and had it not been for inaccurate kicking they may well have won by a lot more. The Sharks finished with 25.20 and got a valuable percentage booster, while Old Melburnians year keeps getting worse as they flounder in a competition they maybe shouldn’t have been in after a similar year last year. Nonetheless they have been competitive in every game, keep fighting though, let’s hope they can get through the season with a win or two. For the Sharks, McLaren and Beattie Powell booted 4 goals while Zagni chipped in with 3 and was the best player on the ground. McFarlane was able to kick a goal for O’Ms and was their best player on another really tough day at the office. Sharks are playing very nice footy at the moment, their round 8 clash with Skobs will be mouth-watering stuff.
St Kevins made it 6 out of 6 with a huge victory over Old Trinity, in a similar scoreline to the Beauy v OMs game with Skobs kicking 11 goals before Trinity registered their first and the rampage continued from there. Skobs kicked 7 goals in the second, 8 in the third, and 6 in the final term to win by 24 goals. Again, inaccuracy cost Skobs a bigger win but they did it easily nonetheless and their percentage will get a nice boost after that win. It just wasn’t Trinity’s day with Sharp their only goalkicker and Thuring playing pretty well also. Nick Fletcher managed to kick 7 and was best on ground while Massey bagged 4 for the ladder leaders who are playing some outstanding football at the moment.
St Bernard’s were not all that convincing against Uni Blues but still ended up 28 point winners in another game that was affected by poor kicking. Bernard’s could well have blown Uni Blues out of the water as they kicked 9.17. Yacoub and DeLeur both kicked 2 goals with Vague and Dillon getting plenty of the ball throughout the day. Kemp and Keach were Blues best in what could be a positive for them and shows they can match it with one of the best sides in the competition.
Old Xaverians and Old Scotch locked horns at Stradbroke Park in what proved a crucial match for both sides in terms of where they sit on the ladder after six rounds. It was the home side who came away victorious by 20 points. They didn’t have it their way the whole day though, with Scotch bringing the heat at every opportunity and not letting the Old Xavs play their natural fast moving game. Harry Kelly played his best game for the season as did Joe Barlow who was outstanding all day. Silk, Parker and Lucas all chipped in with a few goals. For Scotch, McDougall kicked 3 and Clark was their best player. An outstanding game of football between two quality sides who will no doubt be in the action when finals roll around in August. Old Scotch have a tough task ahead with Beaumaris next week, while the Xavs will want to make it 2 in a row against Uni Blacks and will need to ensure they keep winning for the rest of this year with De La and Blues breathing down their necks in 5th and 6th spots.
Old Melburnians v Old Trinity
Old Scotch v Beaumaris
Old Xaverians v University Blacks
St Bernards v St Kevins
University Blues v De La Salle