Wild weather fails to dampen Cardinals, Snow Dogs Round 1 victories

By David Chalmers – DAChalmers81

Typical Melbourne weather was on display for the opening round of Premier B footy as games that started in bright sunshine ended in thunder, lightning and pelting rain. Four of the five games were completed, however, the Old Brighton-Peninsula clash was called off at three-quarter time due to safety concerns from the umpires. While the Monash-Ajax game was delayed by half an hour, the players did return to finish the match. In the wash-up (pun intended), only one of the Premier B newcomers, St Bernard’s, walked away with a win, signalling their intent to return to the top flight in a big way. Thanks to Andrew Mullett (OB), Phil de Young (Mon) and Tim Shearer (OS) and Joe Pignataro (St B) for their contribution to the following reports.

Old Brighton, led by new co-captains, Harry Hill and Dylan Verney, travelled to Frankston to take on the Peninsula Pirates in their first Premier B contest. A 10.8 first term from the visitors set up a commanding 93-point lead at the final break. On the vast expanses of a very long Frankston oval, and with ruckman Hayden Johnson on top at the bounce, the Tonners swarmed all over the promoted Pirates, who had no answer to Michael Karayannis’s pace and skill. The vice-captain slammed through an early hat-trick, while Alex “The Maestro” Mastromanno goaled twice, as did a resurgent Matthew Gadsden. The Pirates were unable to make any impact on the scoreboard when they had their turn with the breeze, and the Tonners added seven more goals in the third before the storm hit … hard!  The Pirate’s four goals came from four different players, while captain Stu Grigg, Shaun Payze and Fraser Roberts were among the best for the losing team. Despite the game being called off at three-quarter time, the VAFA board confirmed on Wednesday that the score at the time of abandonment would stand and Old Brighton will be awarded the full four points.

2016 preliminary finalist, Old Scotch, began their 2017 campaign against newly relegated Old Carey. The opening minutes were an arm wrestle as both midfields battled for control, however, the Cardinals’ gradual ascendancy started to be reflected on the scoreboard late in the first quarter. Old Scotch played some terrific team football in the second quarter where their run off half back set up many damaging forward forays, and as a result they took a 31-point lead into the main break. New Scotch coach, Dale Bower, challenged his side to start the game again after they half as they knew Old Carey would come out hard in the third. The Panthers had the first five scoring shots of the quarter but weren’t able to find the space between the big sticks and the Cardinals rubbed salt in the wounds and managed to kick the first goal of the second half. From then on, the Cardinals retained control of the game to lead by 46 points at three-quarter time. The rain came in the final quarter making ball control difficult for both sides and dampened Old Carey’s chance of a comeback victory. Old Scotch ran out with a spirited eight goal win, seeing the club retain the Bendigo Community Bank Cup.

Fitzroy and Parkdale battled out a cracker of a contest for the Norm Johnstone Trophy, with the Roys opening their 2017 season with a three-point win. It was a very different Roys unit, with ten new faces, including the returning Max Ellis. After a tight first term, the Vultures broke the game open with five goals to one in the second, taking a handy lead into halftime given the conditions. The Roys bounced back in the third, kicking 6.6 and holding the Vultures scoreless. The home side remained hopeful as they had the wind at their backs in the last quarter, however, as the weather continued to deteriorate, making scoring difficult for both sides. Admirably, the Vultures crept within a goal but were unable to hit the front, giving Fitzroy a nail-biting win in round one. New faces led both sides, with Nathan Jumeau (Fitzroy) and Zac Straker (Parkdale) kicking three goals each. Club leaders served their respective teams well, with Vultures vice-captains Dan Moloney and GT Moore Medallist Charlie Dillon featuring prominently, while Rory Angiollela and Julian Turner were among the best for the the Roys.

Monash Blues were one of the success stories of the 2016 season, making the top four after being promoted from Premier C and then losing their first three games. They faced AJAX in the season opener, who will be looking to improve on their 2016 7^th place. After a tight first term, Ajax kicked away with 4.5 to two behinds. The Blues had the scoring end in the third but were unable to take advantage, as the Jackas stayed in the contest and maintained a three goal lead going into the last quarter. Nick Lewis, Nick Marks and Kane Nissenbaum were leading from the front for the visitors. Ultimately, the weather would have the final say in this contest, as the storm brought a wind change and all of a sudden the Blues had the advantage. Led by Charlie Rosetti and Zac Ledin, the Blues piled on five goals and hit the front as the weather worsened. With three minutes to go, the players were called off the ground and the match was postponed for 30 minutes. After the restart, the Blues kicked another couple of points and finished with a hard-fought ten-point win.

It was the clash of ‘Relegated vs Promoted’ as St Bernard’s travelled to Central Reserve to take on Mazenod, who unfurled their C grade Premiership flag before the game in front of their home fans. The Snowdogs got off to the best possible start, kicking 7.3 to 0.1, and by halftime the visitors had opened up a 62-point lead. St Bernards vice-captain Adam Bentick was running riot through the midfield, Sam Woods was using his pace off the half back flank and Edyn Sibbald (five goals) was flying for everything. The weather turned even nastier at three-quarter time, with the wind picking up and the rain coming down in sheets, yet, somehow, the margin continued to grow and the Snowdogs ran out the game 113 point victors. Mazenod were again led on the field by Rob Mann, who was named best-on in a disappointing day for the Nodders. Nick Thomas and Augustine Patti were also prominent, while Brad Kovac kicked two goals.

Tips:

Old Brighton v Mazenod
Fitzroy v Peninsula
Old Scotch v Monash
Ajax v Old Carey
St Bernard’s v Parkdale