Lions, Blues give 101 in game plan execution

Nick Armistead – @NickArmistead

What just happened in William Buck Premier?

After the Round 5 blockbuster between St Kevin’s and Old Xaverians – a match several doyens of Amateur football rated as one of the greatest ever – the Collegians-SKOB clash was meant to be the worthy successor.

Both were undefeated, coming off their most important victories for the year and had star players across the board; namely, their vastly different but ever-impressive off-season recruits.

What unfolded under lights at Harry Trott was not expected, nor was it one bit reminiscent of the pre-game hype as Collegians dismantled SKOB by 90 points.

The Lions’ game plan was executed perfectly as they increased an eight-point lead at the first break to 52 by the half via seven unanswered goals. Their increased speed through the midfield and offensive intent is the key element to their early success, with the maintenance of their elite defensive structures the backbone of their game plan. Lachie Ferguson kicked six goals in a best-on-ground performance, while Kenny Ong and Viv Michie offered Alex Croft et al precision delivery throughout the entire match with a further 10 goals to four in the second half showcasing the Lions’ dominance.

Michael Sholly speaks about the mental side of football in this week’s editorial and elements of that aspect of the game certainly played out in Round 6. Coaches break seasons into blocks in a bid to maintain the arousal levels and motivation of their players. While Collegians may have set themselves to play the ‘final’ game of their most recent block against SKOB and use it as a true test of where they are currently situated, it is abundantly clear SKOB did the same thing last week against Old Xaverians (and vice-versa). As such, they failed to fire a shot and fell to their first loss of the year.

Michael Di Natale, Cal Matheson, Connor Ross, Kel Williams and Chris Gleeson each missed after playing important roles against Xavs, with their losses compounding the mental exhaustion already experienced by the playing group. In comparison, the Lions entered the match with three changes of their own (no Will Johnson and Matt Jenkinson strengthens their defensive prowess argument), but welcomed back Matt Singleton and Trent Zimbachs.

Xavs also experienced the mental exhaustion brought upon by a clash against the old foe and were completely outplayed by University Blues to the tune of 74 points. They had just three changes from their 11-point loss to SKOB which included Brendan Goss and Chris Waller, but signs were telling when the Blues skipped to a four-goal lead at the half. Another eight goals to one in the final two terms gave the Uni Oval natives a comprehensive victory and allowed them to re-enter fourth spot on the ladder. Tim Geappen, Dan Batarilo and Kieran Harper each kicked three goals, Ryan Eade turned it on for his first outing this year and Tom Quinn returned after injury kept him sidelined. Harper’s current form is arguably the strongest in the competition and his ability to find the goals gives the Blues an offensive weapon outside the standard forward setup. Their second consecutive loss takes Xavs to 4-2 but they maintain a one-game buffer over the Blues, T’s and De La Salle. They lost captain Dan Noonan to injury midway through the first term and have now kicked just four goals (33 points) in their past five quarters of football. They will look to regroup and hit back this weekend when they host Beaumaris at Toorak Park.

Old Trinity certainly regrouped after three clashes against three undefeated sides with a 61-point win over Beaumaris at Banksia Reserve. Despite trailing by 13 points at the first break, the T’s piled on 16 of the last 21 goals with Seb Nicolosi equalling his season high of four majors. Harry Tinny and Sam Joyce each kicked three, while Jack Hunt and Gabe Hamilton provided drive from the midfield. Joyce, 22, has played three matches since debuting at senior level against Xavs in Round 4 and has slotted in well, adding another string to their mid-sized forward line bow of Nicolosi, Ed Weatherson and Alex Polidoros. Scott Braithwaite and Rob Cathcart continued their stellar form in a Sharks outfit struggling to recapture the winning ways from Premier B last year. Drew Kelly’s three-goal performance will offer hope leading into their Round 7 clash against Xavs and, if they can start fast again while restricting the Xavs scoring power, the pressure could be enough to claim their first win of 2017.

A half of football was enough for Old Melburnians to secure their second consecutive win, defeating University Blacks by 56 points at Sportscover Arena. Despite giving up 46 points to 17 across Q1 and Q3, OMs exerted pure dominance throughout the second and fourth as they kicked 18 goals to four (115-30). Al Armstrong has a proclivity for putting on a masterclass once or twice a season and he heated up in a big way with eight majors in a best-on-ground performance. Nick Daish and Nick De Steiger showed no signs of slowing down from their respective hot streaks of form, while James Toohey was the best for Blacks. It was the Blacks’ biggest loss for the year but along the lines of how most of their games have been played – in two halves. They will take solace from Lochie Dornauf’s return to form after three consecutive weeks where he was kept goalless. Such was his start to the year with two bags of six, he remains fourth on the goal kicking leader board with 14.

St Bedes/Mentone Tigers registered their second win for the year and ended De La Salle’s unbeaten three-game run, battling their way to a 21-point win at Brindisi Street Oval. The Tigers kept De La to just six goals – their lowest tally since Round 12 last year –  but it was the Chris Richards screamer which has stolen the headlines in the wake of the match. A genuine mark of the year contender, it will take a Will Tardif-esque hanger from 2015 to beat it this year and if you’ve not seen it, head to VAFA HQ on Facebook, Instagram or the website. James Tyquin was the best player on the ground for the Tigers, while Adrian Indovino continued his goal kicking form for De La with three. De La have kicked more than nine goals in a match just once this year but are defensively sound, giving up more than 78 points just the once also.