Nothing is certain in Division 1 – except SMS

Brin Duggan – @BrinDuggan

What’s a 3 letter word for flag favourites? Hmm … PEGS? No, doesn’t fit … what could it be … SMS! Yes, that’s it! I’ll write that in using a pen. Division 1 has proven to be not dissimilar to a crossword in the opening rounds of 2017. Once you think you know the answer, you get another answer and the answer you thought you knew was completely wrong. Just when I thought I understood the competition in Division 1, Preston beats Ormond, Oakleigh are good and before you know it the whole newspaper is burning furiously in the fire you’ve started because it’s May and it’s freezing. I think what my point is, is that few things are certain in this world, especially in Division 1 football.

Funny I should say that because one thing is for certain, St. Mary’s Salesian are for real. The lid’s off. The cork’s popped. Their dismantling of Therry at home, after trailing for the whole first half, is the final microgram of proof needed. After trailing by two points at halftime, the Saints went BANG, holding Therry to 16 points and exploding for 79 of their own. SMS were able to run out comfortable 10-goal winners. Manny Dolan, once again, was unstoppable with four goals, while Heath Chipperfield and Charlie Angley were brilliant all day for SMS. Matthew Lyons and Anthony Tana continued their purple patches for Therry and Justin Crotty kept up his fine goal kicking form with three majors.

45 minutes Southeast on the M1, Oakleigh hosted Brunswick. In a relatively even battle, early ascendancy was going to be crucial. That proved the case as Oakleigh kicked out to a 14-point quarter time lead, which morphed into a 39-point lead at halftime. The NOBs had to do something to get back in the game; enter Matthew Shannon, the man with two first names did all he could to keep his team in it, booting six goals. However, the firepower of Oakleigh cancelled out Shannon’s individual brilliance and saw the Krushers home by 38. Gary Bennett went full Gary Ablett in a dominant BOG performance for Oakliagh while Damon Byrne did his darnedest in a losing effort.

At Friar Park, Whitefriars, hoping to break their duck, welcomed Ivanhoe. However, the fast-starting Hoers blew the game wide open and went into the half with a 36-point lead. As was the case in Round 3, the Hoers were smashed after the main break. In a spirited third quarter, the Friars held Ivanhoe to a solitary point and added 27 of their own to reduce the deficit to 10. With that, the game was back on, for young and old. Friars kicked the first two of the last and evened things up at 52 apiece. It looked like they were going to pinch it before, surprisingly, Ivanhoe wrestled back momentum and kicked two last gasp goals to set up a cardiac arresting single-point victory. Angus Woodward was vital for the Hoers with a one-goal, best-on-ground performance. 2017 debutant, Nicholas Florio, was great in a determined performance for the Friars.

At the runway, PEGS were licking their lips at the thought of welcoming St. John’s to their home ground. A tentative first half saw PEGS up by 25 points at the main break with a solid effort from the JOCs keeping the scoreboard manageable. However, the hangar doors opened after the main break and the Bombers game out firing. A 14-goal second half saw PEGS fly away to a 95-point drubbing. Gun recruit, Adrian Romanyk, booted eight snags to claim best on ground and Jackson Young chimed in with seven of his own. For the JOCs, Aaron Thornton popped through three goals while Daniel Cattolico got his name in the paper again as best on.

After 2 strong wins, Preston ushered in Ormond for a litmus test on how their year will shape up. In a battle of 3^rd v 4^th, the going was tough but Preston managed to break the shackles and open up 22-point halftime buffer. Ormond marched back into the game in the third building momentum, holding Preston goalless and closing the gap to just two points at the final break. However, Preston coach, George Wakim, illustrated his legendary coaching credentials with a three quarter time address that netted his side a seven-goals-to-three final quarter and a 24-point victory. Bullants legend, Damon Marcon, was at it again with four goals while Liam Sutton stepped up in his 2017 debut and was named BOG. For Ormond, Adam Schwarz contributed again on the scoreboard with two goals, as did Sam Mason, but it was Ethan Hanley that took the gong as the Monds’ best player.

Round five looks clearer than last week but we can be almost certain someone will throw a spanner in the works. Will Brunswick deliver on their potential and claim the points from the impressive Bullants? I can’t see that happening. Preston should take this one. Down South, Ormond host Oakleigh in what should be a tight encounter. I’ll go with the home side, Ormond, to get back on the winners list with Luke Gogis dominant. Most unlikely is the spanner being thrown by Whitefriars. Coach, Dean Thorn, may go grey thinking about the SMS forwards. I’m tipping SMS by plenty. Could it be Therry Penola at home who mess with the PEGS machine? Maybe, though, they’ll have to find some way to stop Adrian Romanyk. For mine, it’ll be PEGS by 20 points. Assuming Ivanhoe are favourites away to St. John’s, we could say that a JOCs win would be the cog-jarring result we weren’t expecting. Let’s go with that, Aaron Thornton to get a hold of Ivanhoe and JOCs to win.

Feature photo: Phil Skeggs