Blues’ depth key to success

By Nick Armistead

With the last game of representative football and second round of byes in the rear-view mirror, VAFA football returns for Round 13 this weekend. Before we move on to this week’s impressive and excitement-inducing fixture, I’d like to congratulate the eight William Buck Premier club players who represented the Big V in their hard-fought loss against AFL Vic Country on Sunday.

The skill, poise and potential of every Big V player was showcased on arguably the biggest stage outside of grand final day, and the future of the VAFA is as bright as it has ever been. 20 players donned the Big V for the first time, while St Bernard’s Michael Caven and Ormond’s James Landman were selected for the second consecutive year.

Round 12 threw a multitude of unexpected and genuinely exciting results our way last weekend, with Old Carey recording their first victory this season. Led by experienced trio Joel Rice, Ben Smithwick and Luke Crozier, the Panthers were a goal or less in front at every break and held on to win by three points against St Kevin’s. There were a number of key moments which helped the Panthers to win number one, but none were more telling than the piece of magic Cam Wallace produced in the final two minutes when he weaved, bounced and slotted a boundary line stunner to put the Panthers nine points clear. Nick Wood registered two goals for SKOB, while Conor Ross’ stellar season continues to go from strength-to-strength after he starred off half back yet again. What sparks the most interest from this result is the confidence attained from the first win of the season, and if the Panthers could play a role in the finals set-up by notching the scalps of one or two more top four aspirants in the coming weeks.

After commencing the season 1-3, University Blacks have now pieced together seven wins from their past eight games with their latest a hard-fought 26-point victory against De La Salle at Uni Oval. As the 46-20 score suggests,it was extremely low-scoring as both sides acclimatised to the heavy mud-induced conditions, with just eight goals kicked for the match. Bede Mahon and Charlie Richardson led from the front for the Blacks, with their ability to drive the ball forward in those conditions instrumental to the Blacks’ success.The transition from defence played a big part in the end result as the Blacks consistently had a link man across half back/wing and didn’t find themselves under nearly as much pressure when transitioning forward. While Sam and Jake Williams were constantly repelling from defence, the De La targets simply weren’t there due to the fact they were missing Adrian Indovino, Sam Haslem and Big V representative Jack Vickers – the players who would generally play that link man role.

Old Trinity returned to form after going winless since Round 6 and defeated Collegians by 21 points at Daley Oval. In his second game back at senior football level, two-time Woodrow medallist, Brendan Iezzi, launched back into form with a best-on-ground performance. While their third-term woes have been well-documented throughout the year, the T’s nailed five of their 12 goals (42% of their overall score) in the premiership quarter after going at just 15% of total score from rounds 1 – 11. Stunning displays from Anthony Scott and Harry Tinney helped the T’s cause, while Jack Hunt sent through a goal of the year contender with the give-and-go from 50m out. Despite a four-goal effort from Will Tardif, the Lions were unable to curb the T’s but will be buoyed by the performances of both Sam Hibbins and Andrew Scott who fought hard all day. The Lions are now a game and a half outside the four and will be keen to return to the winner’s column this weekend and keep their finals chances alive.

There is a new ladder-leader in William Buck Premier as University Blues won their fourth match in a row with a 15-point victory against St Bernard’s at the Snakepit. The most impressive facet of the Blues’ rise to prominence is their apparent bottomless pit of personnel, showcased by the nine changes they had from the team who rolled out against Old Carey a week prior. Names such as Jeremy Mugavin, Marshall Rippon, Clayton Hinkley, Joel Maloney, Patrick Hayes and the Batarilo bros were all sidelined for one reason or another, but the Blues still found a way to get the job done.  Thomas MacKenzie and Tom Quinn stood up and kicked two each for the Blues, while Jeremy Taylor starred in a best-on-ground performance. A Snow Dogs win would have drawn them closer to avoiding relegation but, as has been the way all year, they suffered another close loss without getting blown out of the water. They’re fighting and the current form of Chris and Mitch Hughes, Chris Peart and Simon Caven is evidence of that.

Old Xaverians heaped more pressure on the top four as they continued their red-hot form with a 61-point win against Old Melburnians. While the Xavs’ attack has received deserved plaudits for the majority of the season, it was their defensive effort which stood out as they kept OMs goalless after half time. Dan Noonan and Nick Wynne were unstoppable across half back, while Jarryd Skene covered the loss of Tim Dynon with the utmost poise. Nick Serafini dominated in a best-on-ground performance, and Matt Handley (four) took his overall goal tally to 37 despite kicking the air out of the ball midway through the third term. Unfortunately for OMs, it was their second-lowest score of 2016 and they now fall outside the four. However, standout performances from Lachie Borthwick and Oscar Hosking give hope of a quick return.

Round 13 Tips

Old Carey vs St Bernard’s

Collegians vs St Kevin’s

University Blues vs Old Trinity

Old Melburnians vs University Blacks

De La Salle vs Old Xaverians