William Buck Premier returns with in-form Big V stars

Nick Armistead – @NickArmistead

William Buck Premier returns to the forefront of our minds this weekend following a phenomenal two days of Big V football.

30 players from the VAFA’s top section represented their Association when they took to Frankston Oval on Saturday; including, 18 in the 82-point winning senior side and 12 in the courageous U19’s outfit who fell by just four points.

Such was the impact of those selected, 10 of the 12 best players from the two games were from William Buck Premier clubs, while Anthony Lynch (St Kevin’s), Thomas Jok (St Kevin’s), Al Armstrong (Old Melburnians), Tom Cameron (Old Melburnians) and Tate Short (St Bedes/Mentone Tigers) received the available awards post-match.

If we cast our minds back to Round 11, we saw significant changes to the top four following De La Salle’s eight-point victory over Old Xaverians, while the chatter surrounding relegation began to ramp up following St Bedes/Mentone Tigers’ most important win for the year against Old Trinity.

The top four is anything but settled and De La proved just as much as they defeated Xavs by 10 points in a come-from-behind victory at Waverley Oval. Trailing at every break throughout the match and by nine points at three quarter time, De La kicked 3.6 to 1.1 as Jason Tutt and Sam Williams commanded the half back line and offered elite pace and disposal, hitting up form forwards the ilk of Sam Pickett. The win is De La’s fourth from their past five outings and, although 73 points was their lowest score since Round 6, De La’s average score over that stretch is 84.6 compared to the 67 points they averaged in the first six rounds. Nick Wynne and Murphy Ambrose starred for Xavs, while Brendan Goss kicked three goals in his last match before heading overseas for a period. The loss means Xavs fall from third to fifth and they host the third-placed University Blues this weekend. However, they follow this weekend’s blockbuster with a five-match stretch against the current bottom five sides.

St Kevin’s solidified top spot with an impressive 47-point victory over Collegians at St Kevin’s College. After being subjected to a 90-point demolition to the Lions in Round 6, SKOB continued their improvement as an outfit with their third score in excess of 100 points from their past five games. Gerard Gleeson’s current form is as strong as player in William Buck Premier and he pieced together another best-on-ground performance, while Zach Ginies feasted on his midfield’s delivery with six goals – his second haul of five or more for the season. Viv Michie and Sam Hibbins have both led from the front at different stages throughout the year but are currently combining through the midfield as one of the deadliest duos in the competition. Their ability to win the ball both inside and outside is a feature of the Lions’ engine room and was on show for all to see during the weekend’s Big V victory. They rank second for both points for and against, and with a range of sidelined talent still to come back in, are primed for a top two spot alongside SKOB.

St Bedes/Mentone Tigers strengthened their position in the bottom half of the ladder as they defeated Old Trinity by 37 points and climbed to seventh spot on the ladder. Seven unanswered goals in the fourth quarter did the job after they entered the fourth term trailing by four points. George Rowlands and Michael Barnes kicked three majors each for the Tigers, while Brayden O’Toole was named best on ground. The T’s have now lost five in a row and sit in eighth spot on the ladder. Of their past five games, they’ve been outplayed in one quarter only and four of those have been in the second half. While they were subject to a seven-goal blitz from the Tigers, the T’s were outscored by five majors against De La (Q4), four against Blacks (Q3) and OMs (Q4), while the Blues recorded their recent win against them thanks largely to a five-goal second term. Minus these one-quarter lapses, the T’s outscored their opponents in the past three matches. The stars are playing well, with Andrew Kyriacopoulos returning to form on the weekend alongside the in-form Brendan Iezzi, Anthony Scott, Gabe Hamilton and Luke Pacconi.

Old Melburnians returned to the winners’ list with a semi-comfortable 52-point win over Beaumaris. It was only semi-comfortable due to the Redlegs holding just a seven-point lead at the main break, before Matt Thomas, Josh Freezer and U19’s Big V captain, Tom Cameron, lifted and helped their side to nine goals to two in the second half. OMs have showcased their endurance in the past three-game block as they’ve continually finished strong, outscoring their first half by seven goals in total. Al Armstrong is a large reason for the OM’s increase in goals as he often takes a key defender and has the ability to outrun them as the match progresses. Will Murton and Joshua Trew stood out for the Sharks as they continue their search for win number one. In the four games leading up to Round 11, the Sharks averaged 87.75 points and looked closer to victory each week; however, their 44 points against OM’s is their lowest score since Round 4 and second-lowest for the year. Recapturing their Rounds 7-10 form will be on the cards this week and there is little doubt they will celebrate a victory in the coming weeks.

Uni Blues officially established themselves alongside SKOB as the form sides throughout the middle section of the year, defeating Uni Blacks by 21 points for their fifth win from six matches. The lead chopped and changed throughout the first three quarters with the Blues taking a two-point lead into the last break. However, four goals to one in the fourth term maintained the Blues’ winning form with Tim Geappen backing up his four goals in Round 10 with another bag of five. George Cameron and Ryan Eade’s influence in 2017 has been as important as any of the star-studded Blues’ brigade, winning contested ball in the clutches and providing a chop out for Ross Young, Kieran Harper et al as they use their elite skills to enter forward 50. Blacks captain Bede Mahon was instrumental to his side’s competitive output, while Harry Allen gave ample assistance. Sitting ninth on the ladder and on the same number of wins as the T’s and Tigers, the Blacks have two huge weeks against OM’s and SBMT where they can go a long way to rearranging the bottom half of the ladder should they claim two wins.