Monash Blues’ shock upset

By David Chalmers – @DAChalmers81

So we’ve entered that stage of the season where teams play each other a second time and it’s always interesting to see how the teams fare the second time around. In Round 10 we had three reversals from earlier in the season, most notably Monash upsetting league leaders Beaumaris by seven points, giving the Sharks their first loss for the season. Hampton also got on the board for their second win of the season, holding on against Old Brighton.

Ajax and Fitzroy contested a crucial encounter at Gary Smorgon Oval, with both teams in the middle group of teams fighting for the fourth spot. Last time these two teams met, in Round 3, Ajax prevailed by three goals. The Roys started better, kicking the first two goals through Luke Edwards and Chris Doherty. The home side bounced back with three goals in as many minutes thanks to David Fayman, Josh Ludski and Brad Caplan. They continued to control the play but kicked four straight behinds through the middle stages of the quarter, and two late goals to Aiden Burke and Matthew Brown gave the Roys a two point lead at quarter time. The Jackas set up the win with a four-goals-to-none second term, and kept Fitzroy at arm’s length for the rest of the match. Ajax went in without Ash Burstin and Warren Steinberg but Dean Rotenberg returned and contributed four goals. David Fayman and Brad Caplan continued their excellent seasons, kicking three goals each and were among the best. Fitzroy lost Tom Cheshire and Max Davie for the clash, but Rory Angiolella played his best game for the season and Chris Doherty was again very good with a couple of goals. It was a costly loss for the Roys, who slipped from fourth to seventh after Monash, Parkdale and Ajax all posted wins.

It was second versus third at Camberwell Sports Ground as the Cardinals took on St Bedes/Mentone. Their previous contest was a cracker on Anzac Day, which the Tigers took out by seven points. Luke Velluto got the Tigers on the board first but Tim Macmillan and Conor O’Beirne replied for the Cardinals. Pat Tyquin levelled things up for the Tigers with a clever soccer goal before Jack Bull roved the pack from a throw in and finished off a nice running goal, giving the Cardinals a slight edge. The Tigers then broke the game open with four goals in the last ten minutes with contributions from Velluto, Chris Richards and two from Mitch Coen. The second term produced just three goals as the visitors increased their lead slightly before a ten-goal-to-four second half gave the Tigers a commanding 70-point victory, leaving them just half a game behind ladder leaders Beaumaris. Jack Furey led the Cardinals, who were without regular goalkicker James Sansom, with three goals. Jono Daggian, Matthew Seed and Aidan Franetic, who have kicked 45 goals between them this season, were all held goalless. Luke Velluto and Michael Barnes continued their excellent form for the Tigers, kicking eight goals between them. Despite the loss, the Cardinals remain entrenched in the top three, two games ahead of fourth place.

Old Brighton and Hampton faced off at South Road, with the Rovers fighting to keep their Premier B future alive. The Tonners won their Round 3 clash by 21 points. Neither side could find the big sticks with any regularity in the first quarter, with three goals from twelve scoring shots. The Rovers broke the game open in the second quarter, kicking seven goals to two and taking a commanding six goal half time lead. Harry Hill scored the first and last goals of the quarter for the Tonners but in between it was all Hampton, with contributions from Nathan Smith, Ed Turner, Sam Bradford and two from Jack Toouli and Ned Fallon. A six goal deficit looked like a big ask, but the Tonners roared back into business, kicking five goals to one in the third quarter and when Tom King converted a free during the final term, the home side actually hit a most unlikely lead. In the end the Rovers did enough, claiming their second victory of the season by seven points. For the Tonners, Harry Cannon was strong in defence, Hamish Graham played well in the ruck and Michael Karayannis, after scoring the opener with a terrific dash around the boundary, put in a spirited performance.  Dan Anthony inspired the fight-back with a strong third term and he finished with three goals. The Rovers win means they are now level with the Tonners at the bottom of the ladder, only one game back from Old Haileybury.

The Parkdale 2016 rollercoaster continued in Round 10 against Old Haileybury. The Vultures have only had the same result two weeks in a row on one occasion this year and were looking to reverse their 40-point loss to the Bloods in Round 4. The home side could only manage 2.5 in the first term and the Bloods fought back in the second, kicking five and taking a narrow half time lead. The Vultures wrestled the lead back in the third quarter, kicking four goals and taking a nine point advantage. They then kicked the first of the final term through Tom Redmond. Once again the Bloods showed they weren’t done, with Lachlan Treverton and Nathan Waite kicking goals to help their side take a one-point lead half way through the quarter. However, they’d spent all their petrol tickets and the Vultures finished with the four goals in the last seven minutes, thanks to Liam Platt, Jason Bristow, Redmond and Josh Manning. The Vultures are on the rise and only out of the top four on percentage, while the Bloods find themselves just one game out of the relegation zone.  

The Beaumaris Sharks, without key forward Stephen Milne, have lost their first game of the Premier B season against the Monash Blues. They had more scoring shots but managed just three goals for the match as the Blues survived a late Shark attack to hold on by seven points. Keegan Mason had a great game for the Blues, while regular contributors Maddison Hardiman and Alfie Oppy also stood out. In a dirty day for the Sharks, Tom Dean, Lachlan Boyd and Josh Ward were the shining lights. The Sharks remain half a game clear on top of the ladder, while Monash find themselves in the top four on percentage, with Ajax, Parkdale and Fitzroy nipping at their heels.

Round 11 Tips:
Hampton v Monash
Old Brighton v Ajax
St Bedes/Mentone v Beaumaris
Old Scotch v Parkdale
Old Haileybury v Fitzroy