Winning away from home in Premier C

By Christian Burgess – Premier C Scribe

With Round 10 complete and all teams beginning to play each other for the second time, you would think we could be more confident about the outcomes of games. Yet, we saw the undefeated side of the competition fight back a three quarter time deficit to claim victory over 8th placed Old Camberwell and last weeks fifth place Kew beat third place Old Ivanhoe by 8 goals.

Mazenod are continually being tested as they were pushed for four quarters by Old Camberwell in their tight contest at Central Reserve. At each break no one team had a lead bigger than two goals. Old Camberwell managed the biggest lead which was their three quarter time 12 point hand in front. But it was the Nodders last quarter where they managed to kick 4 goals and one behind to the Wellers one goal and one behind, giving the Nodders a six point victory. Thomas Kanz booted four majors which puts him equal first in the Premier C leading goal kicker with Oakleigh’s Aaron Cloke. James Howells was awarded best afield for the third time within the last four weeks.

Williamstown CYMS put themselves two games clear of Oakleigh after their big win, positioning them equal fifth with Kew. The Cy’s held the Krushers goalless up until the half time whilst kicking ten goals and ten behinds. The Krushers managed nine goal to the Cy’s five in the second half, but their run was too little and too late as the Cy’s finished 40 points clear. In his third game for the season, Thomas Johnstone hit the scoreboard for the first time with three goals to go with his best on ground performance. The more games the Cy’s can get out of Johnstone, the stronger their chances are of playing finals, as he appeared in the Cy’s best seven of his eleven games last season. Zachary Read was the highest scoring on the day with five of his sides 15.

Caulfield bounced back from their lost to Old Ivanhoe the week before to belt Marcellin by 108 points. Marcellin needed to play at their absolute best to challenge Caulfield and unfortunately their innacurate goal kicking did not help their chances, kicking four goals and ten behinds for the day. Jeremiah Antypas did all he could kicking 3 of Marcellin’s four goals but it was the dominance of the Field’s enite outfit that proved too strong. The Fields looked set to prove a point to the competition that last week’s slip up to Old Ivanhoe was not the performance to judge them on. Louis O’Keefe now sits equal second in the league goal kicking after his bag of five. Young gun William Barker was in his sides best for the seventh time this season and nailed two goals on the day. Caulfield now remain one game clear in second position.

Peninsula Pirates were back to their high scoring best with 43 scoring shots last Saturday against the accurate Ormond who kicked 12 goals and four behinds. Eight of Ormond’s goals come solely from Robert Chisolm who played his best game for the season. Peninsula have scored more points this season than ladder leaders Mazenod exemplifying their ability to attack, but have let through more than 130 more points defensively. Peninsula’s inaccurate kicking in front of goal reduced what could have been a devastating day for Ormond. Peninsula kicked 17 goals and 26 behinds to win by 52 points.

Kew were prolific in their defeat over Old Ivanhoe. Old Ivanhoe are still without star midfielder Carl Groth and without his impact around stoppages, Kew midfielder’s capitalised. The Kew midfielders in Jack Del Bridge &  Josh O’Bryan were too strong around stoppages whilst Ben Hurley continues to improve each week utilising his elite skills in the wet conditions. Kew forwards were hard to match up on with pocket rockets Zach Jones and Liam Kinsella combining for seven goals. Adrian Del Monte was crafty kicking two goals for Old Ivanhoe combining class with dare all day and is a nightmare for opponents to match up on with his turn of speed. Kew face off with the Pirates in what is a must win game for both teams to keep their finals chances alive.

Round 11 Tips:

Old Ivanhoe Grammarians v Mazenod

Ormond v Williamstown CYMS

Old Camberwell v Caulfield

Marcellin v Oakleigh

Peninsula v Kew