PEGS flying high in Division 1

By Tom Feldgen – Division 1 Scribe

The Division 1 premiership is now well and truly up for grabs and we still have up to six genuine contenders. After a season-defining round of footy, only percentage separates third and sixth and unbelievably the competition’s pacesetters, Old Mentonians, have slipped down to third spot after their third loss in as many weeks. PEGS and St Mary’s Salesian are now both sitting pretty on equal points with seven wins and two losses at the top of the ladder.

The match of the round lived up to all expectations with PEGS and Therry Penola fighting out an extremely fierce and tight tussle at The Runway. It was the home side that ran over the top in the final quarter and took the points against a Lions side with some key absentees. Nonetheless, Therry were left to rue their missed opportunities as they amassed a costly 13 behinds. A four goal final term from the fast finishing PEGS was enough to see them end victors to the tune of six points. Mark Wilson kicked three majors, James Lenhart was everywhere and Cam Livori was impressive once again for the home side. Brenton Egglestone was the key post up forward kicking four for the Lions, while Ben Ratcliffe continued his mid-season purple patch.

Old Geelong has found some scintillating form as they knocked off early season domineers Old Mentonians. The Ogs ran away to have a comprehensive 44-point win after leading by just 16 at the final change. George Burbury continued to show off his class by turning in an emphatic best-on-ground performance, which featured a bag of five. Jock Grimshaw and Callum Wood added two of their own and Ryan Parsons also had plenty of the Sherrin. For the Panthers, Darcy Brown kicked five of his own and moved two goals away from the top of the league goal-kicking tally and Daniel Maitland continued his strong form. The bye has come at a good time for the Panthers as they have now lost three on the trot against fellow premiership contenders. The Ogs now find themselves in the top four and are set for a massive second half of the season.

Ivanhoe simply got the job done on the weekend. It was far from their best performance of the year but in trying conditions it was enough to take the chocolates and prevail over Old Paradians by 23 points. On a more positive note the win makes in four in a row for the Hoes and they now sit outside the top four by percentage only, capping off an ultra consistent month before the break. On Saturday Mitch Lovell and Ed Robinson were the main targets up forward, both kicking two majors, Reuben Blackmore-Moore kept up his stunning season and Mali Jacobs was good once again. For the Raiders, Adam Pattison proved he will fight out every game he plays for his beloved club, by failing to give up and being their only multiple goal-scorer, while Michael Bellizia was the Raiders best for the day.

Prahran-Assumption now find themselves entrenched in the relegation battle after a dismal first half performance against St Mary’s Salesian. In wet conditions a hard fought, contested tussle should have been on the cards, instead the Saints proceeded to rampage the Two Blues and kick 11 unanswered first-half goals. Following a spray from coach Ash Mills, the Two-Blues were at least competitive in the second-half but the game was all but over. The Saints now move to second position on the ladder with only percentage separating themselves and PEGS. Gary Puruntatameri was electric in the soggy conditions with four majors, Michael Dolan also added four, Mitchell Wood was dominant all day and Brett Gatehouse was superb. Alex Simpson and Ed McDonald both fought hard for the Two Blues.

With both sides having two wins next to their name going into the day, Brunswick NOBSPC and Whitefriars were well aware of the importance of the four premiership points on the line. In torrid conditions at Gillon Oval yet another fourth quarter fade-out led to the demise of NOBS as Whitefriars came home the strongest to triumph by 28 points and snap a three game losing streak. Ryan Tester tested the NOBS defence as he snared three, Carl Giovannini and Chris McDonald were the other multiple goal scorers and Daniel Massarotti was a clear BOG. NOBS’ key contributors were the dynamic trio of Todd Cleary, Gerrard Bence and Kyle Docherty.

The first bye of the season comes at a fascinating time with the premiership favouritism proving very hard to hold onto. Looking forward to round 10 Old Mentonians simply must do the business against Brunswick NOBSPC, PEGS will have a task on their hands against Ivanhoe at the Hoes home ground, Prahran-Assumption and Old Paradians will battle out a fixture that is key to the relegation battle and Therry Penola need to beat Whitefriars to consolidate their spot in the four. The match of the round is St Mary’s Salesian up against Old Geelong. I’m backing a Burbury led Ogs to get the job done as they continue to march towards September as the form side of the competition.

Lastly, a sobering reminder of the dangers of this great game was had in round 8 when Paul Edwards from Therry Penola suffered a serious head injury. From all at the VAFA we wish him the speediest of recoveries and know he will be well looked after at the Lions den.

Round 10

Brunswick NOBSPC vs Old Mentonians

St Mary’s Salesian vs Old Geelong

Ivanhoe vs PEGS

Old Paradians vs Prahran-Assumption

Therry Penola vs Whitefriars

Feature photo: Phil Skeggs