Year of the Og

By Thomas Feldgen

The 2016 Division 1 season will forever be remembered as a genuine tipster’s nightmare. Almost every round saw multiple upsets and it wasn’t until late in the piece that Old Mentonians and Old Geelong revealed themselves as the front-runners of the competition. And with that came two of the great finals bouts which were split one a piece, with Old Geelong winning the one that counted most. The Ogs were certainly worthy recipients of the premiership cup. However, despite being the story of the season, there were certainly teams who challenged along the way and made a name for themselves throughout the year.

The proud club from Toorak Park that is Prahran-Assumption were the unfortunate winners of the wooden spoon and will have to fight their way back from Division 2 next season. The Two Blues finished with three wins, one draw and fourteen losses – although many of these losses were certainly respectable and teams throughout the competition couldn’t afford to slack off. Highlights from the season for the Two Blues included competitive performances against all four finals-bound teams and a Round 18 victory over St Mary’s Salesian. Harrison Taylor was rewarded for his consistent season with the best and fairest, John Stocker proved to be a force from defence and mercurial small forward, John Robbins, finished with 41 goals.

Old Paradians were the other club to suffer relegation this season, but they certainly didn’t go down without a fight as they almost pulled off one of the great escapes. The Raiders suffered a disastrous start, failing to register a win in their first nine fixtures. Within the second half of the season they were one of the toughest opponents, recording five wins from nine games including a five-point victory over PEGS and a 71-point win over Therry Penola. Marcus Nolan took out the best and fairest medal for the Raiders, Adam Pattison lived up to his lofty expectations and James Kappos had a very consistent season.

One of the stories of the season was Brunswick NOBSPC and their nail-biting bid to avoid relegation. It all came down to the final round against Whitefriars. NOBs left nothing in the tank, securing a 51-point win and a spot in Division 1 for 2017. Their highlight of the season was certainly the final three rounds, which included a crucial 10-point victory over Old Paradians, effectively the deciding match in the relegation battle. Gerrard Bence was the star of the season for the boys from Brunswick. He booted 33 goals for the season and was among the better players more often than not. Lachlan Ezard and Cam Fox also turned in great all round efforts.

Whitefriars’ inexperience proved costly throughout 2016, however this young side showed plenty of promise for the future. The boys from Donvale finished with six wins in a season which saw them feature in a number of high scoring, entertaining affairs. Their best performance came in Round 5 when they kicked a massive 157 points against the Raiders and won comfortably. Sean Currie proved to be one of the best midfielders in the competition and was the standout player for the Friars, while Daniel Massarotti starred in defence.

Ivanhoe were the Jekyll and Hyde of Division 1 this year. The first four rounds sums up 2016 for the Hoes. They started off with an impressive 32-point triumph over PEGS, were pummelled by Old Mentonians in the second round, then proceeded to beat eventual premiers Old Geelong by 49 points, only to fall to Therry Penola by 21 goals the following week. Their season petered out from there as they ended up with eight wins. Liam Jacob and Reuben Blackmore-Moore were two shining lights for the Hoes in 2016.

St Mary’s Salesian went into the season with high hopes after pundits predicted them to compete at the business end. Midway through the season when the Saints occupied top spot, aspirations were deservedly high. However, they fell away quickly to finish on 10 wins and eight losses and one game outside the top four. Wins against Therry Penola and PEGS showed how good the Saints can and will be next season. Cameron Butler was a standout and arguably the best full-back in the division. Mitchell Woods was relied upon greatly and Michael Dolan rammed home 47 majors as their most dangerous forward.

Therry Penola scraped over the line to finish in fourth spot with 11 wins and would’ve felt as though they let an opportunity slip to bounce straight back up into Premier C. The Lions compiled a star-studded team with quality players across the board but weren’t able to make it past a rampant PEGS in the elimination final. An away win over grand finalists, Old Mentonians, will go down as the Lions most impressive performance in 2016. Ben Ratcliffe was rewarded for an outstanding season with best and fairest honours and was closely followed by superstar full-forward, Jarrod Bannister, who ended up with 77 majors for the season to top the goal kicking tally.

Although PEGS just missed out on elevation back to the Premier sections, third place seemed just about right given the way the season unfolded. They finished with 12 wins after the home and away fixture and ran over the Lions in the elimination final, but couldn’t match it with the premiers the following week. Skipper, Bradley Jones, was their most consistent performer, closely followed by Cam Livori. Trent Skurrie was a dynamo in front of goal with 69.

Old Mentonians shot out of the blocks like Usain Bolt at Beijing to win their first six games, with their first four each in excess of 100 points. The Panthers then suffered a mid-season lull, but were able to bounce back and confirm themselves as the real deal. They can certainly be proud of their season and promotion to Premier C despite missing out on the last day. Their most noteworthy performance was their victory over Ogs in the qualifying final to secure promotion and a grand final berth. Daniel Maitland was the star all year for the Panthers and was deservedly awarded the Division 1 LS Pepper Medal. Maitland was well supported by the likes of Darcy Brown, Aaron Hodges, Cam Sharp and Kyle Conlon.

Old Geelong – 2016 Division 1 Premiers. It has a nice ring to it if you’re a fan of the mighty Ogs. Old Geelong’s early season form was patchy, but bar an uncharacteristic loss to St Mary’s, they hardly missed a beat for the remainder of the season. They suffered a tight loss in the first final to the Panthers, where poor kicking for goal let them down, but did the business in the big dance.  Colby O’Brien was a key figure all season, Hugh McKay came on in leaps and bounds, Callum Wood was the league’s best centre-half forward and superstar recruit, George Burbury, featured heavily in this scribe’s weekly reports. It was a great season for the Ogs who secured their first senior premiership since 2005 in E Section.

Well that just about raps it up for VAFA Division 1 2016. Well done to all sides for producing a captivating season full of upsets and classic encounters. See you next year to the six clubs who will be returning, hopefully see you soon to those relegated and good luck to Old Mentonians and Old Geelong in Premier C.

It truly has been the #YearOfTheOG.