Bloods stand tall, Hoers knuckle down

Mitch op’t Hoog – @mitch_toog

It’s been an informative week in Premier C with some strong wins clearing the fog and providing some much-needed insight into many team’s hopes for 2017. After inflicting Old Camberwell with a whopping 123-point loss, Old Haileybury have stood tall amongst the pack and confirmed themselves as favourites this early in the season. Unfortunately for the Wellers, their season is beginning to unravel as the loss to Old Haileybury is their third on the trot. Around the grounds, it was Williamstown CYMS, Marcellin, Old Ivanhoe and Caulfield Grammarians who all secured solid wins to close out Round 5. I’m predicting the next few weeks will provide us with much more insight into the standings of many teams in Premier C. Though, no doubt, there’ll still be a few surprises to come.

The win of the round goes to Old Ivanhoe who have once again stepped up to the plate and secured a much-needed win against an in form side, Old Mentonians. The 35-point defeat from the Hoers is the Panthers second straight loss after sitting 3-0 and on top of the ladder a few weeks ago. Trailing by six points at halftime, the Hoers answered their critics and got going in the third quarter kicking five unanswered majors. By three quarter time, the Hoers had snatched back the lead and were up by a comfortable buffer of 22 points. In the final term, Old Ivanhoe continued where they left off in the third and kicked three goals to the Panther’s one. Again, Sam Gelings was a standout for the Hoers with a best-on-ground performance. Up forward, it was Michael Del Monte who top-scored with three goals for the Hoers. For the Panthers, it was Darcy Brown and Jack Davis who were judged the best. Panthers now slip down to fourth spot on the ladder while the Hoers leapfrog Old Camberwell to claim eighth spot.

With their biggest win of the year, Old Haileybury proved to be the team to beat in 2017 as they comfortably took care of Old Camberwell at Gordon Barnard Reserve by a whopping 123-points. The Bloods were dominant all over the ground as they piled home 36 scoring shots to Old Camberwell’s eight. Nathan Waite was again left to do most of the score board damage for Old Haileybury as he booted six goals for the game, taking his season tally for 2017 up to 18. If Old Haileybury continue to win and he stays fit, Waite might find himself in line for the 2017 Premier C goalkicking award. Corey Connelly also chipped in with four for the Bloods as the scorers were aptly supported and supplied to by Peter Shakallis who starred in a BOG performance. Once again, the shining light for Old Camberwell was Simon Bennett who kicked one of the two goals the Wellers could muster together. After starting the season off with two wins and now sitting at 2-3, the Wellers find themselves with some serious questions to answer. They’ll slip down to ninth place on the ladder with an equal win-loss ratio to the three teams above them but a underwhelming percentage of just 66.67.

Williamstown CYMS have gone from strength to strength over the past few weeks as they’ve now made it three wins from their past four matches. The CYs were dominant all day and lead at every break. A 19-point quarter time lead extended to a 49-point halftime and that was just about all she wrote. To their credit, Hampton Rovers came out strong in the third and won the quarter by 15 points. Unfortunately, the third quarter was as long as the Rovers resurgence lasted and the Final quarter belonged to the CYs. Mitch Parkinson and Ben Deller were huge for Williamstown CYMS as each bagged four goals. For the Rovers, Ryan Fogarty was judged best on in his best performance for the year. On the back of their strong win and some good form, Williamstown are starting to look like a likely contender in 2017 as they climb to fifth on the ladder. Sitting stagnant on the two wins, the Rovers hold steady in seventh place with a percentage of 78.75.

Marcellin climb to third spot on the ladder after ending Old Geelong’s two-game winning streak in Round 5. The OGs got off to a slow start, allowing Marcellin to take a four goals lead into the first break. On the back of some strong performances from Jeremy Nettlefold and Colby O’brien, the Ogs managed to reduce the margin to 16 point at the main break. The third term saw Old Geelong reduce the margin to just three points at the final break and the game was poised for a nail-biting finish. However, the Eagles flicked the switch in the final term and piled on four unanswered goals to put the game beyond doubt, eventually winning by 24-points. Daniel McMahon proved the difference for the Eagles as he slotted home a bag of seven. Jackson Green and Lachlan Rush were also instrumental in front of the big sticks and kicked three apiece. For the Ogs, there were some strong signs to build on as Jock Grimshaw and Callum Wood combined for nine goals between them.

Caulfield Grammarians have once again proved they are not to be taken lightly as they made accounted for Kew by a margin of 58-points. Despite the final scoreboard, shows some endeavour and promise early in the game as the teams were locked at 21 apiece at quarter time. Caulfield managed to turn it on in the second quarter and kick away to extend the margin to 33 points at the half. The Bears refused to give in and managed to win the third quarter five goals to three. However, once again, Caulfield managed to kick clear of the Bears in the final term and prove why they’re sitting second on the ladder. Nicholas Baltas and Tom Green kicked five each for the Fielders while Andre Lister continued his good form from last week and was judged BOG. While the final scoreboard read 15 scoring shots to 38 in favour of the Fielders, Kew were valiant in defeat and at times showed they were capable of matching it with the best. No surprises that Andrew Brazzalle was amongst the goals for the Bears who sit bottom of the Premier C ladder and remain the only team still searching for a win in 2017.