Top 3 continue charge in Premier B

David Chalmers – @DAChalmers81

While Premier B’s top three continued their winning ways in Round 11, fourth-placed Ajax missed an opportunity to consolidate their position in the top group. Mazenod are now snapping at their heels, just one game out of the top four. There are still just two games separating positions sixth to tenth, making for an exciting last seven rounds of season 2017.

After losing the last couple, Parkdale were looking to get back on the winners list against St Bernards. They were without goalkickers Josh Green and Zac Straker, but gained Ryan O’Leary and Thomas Jenkins, who was among the best in his first game of the year. St Bernards were missing Connor Riley but Jack Thorogood contributed well in his season debut. The Vultures started better, but wayward kicking cost them a greater advantage. Charlie Dillon extended the Vultures lead in the second term, kicking two in the first five minutes. Alex Derzekos joined in with a nice soccer goal in the goal square. They then kicked three straight behinds before Dillon added another one from a misdirected kick-in; at this stage, St Bernards hadn’t scored in 15 minutes. The Snowdogs finally got one on the board and Shaun Clarke added another one soon after, followed by another couple of Vulture behinds. Chris Hughes took a contested mark and converted the set shot, before Luke Clark replied with a late one for the Vultures. The Snowdogs had the last laugh, getting reward for a great tackle and free for incorrect disposal. The Vultures kicked themselves out of it in the second half, managing just 3.10 compared with 9.8 for St Bernards, allowing the Snowdogs to take a hard-fought 15-point win.

After spending the last month sitting just outside the top four, Monash were looking for some consistency to allow them to take the jump to finals contention. They last met Old Scotch in Round 2, which finished in a four-goal result to the Cardinals. Old Scotch dominated the contest in the first half, taking a six goal advantage into the main break. The game closed down somewhat in the third term, with both sides managing just one goal each. The Cardinals got the jump in the final quarter, kicking three goals in the opening seven minutes thanks to Dylan Gilbert, Jonathan Aujard and Jack Bull. Joe Harrison finished off some good Monash ball movement ten minutes into the quarter and the next thirteen minutes were a stalemate, with neither side able to break through. Daniel Easson kicked Monash’s second for the term and Old Scotch quickly replied with two goals of their own, including a mark and set shot from Robert Macdougall. Nick Woodland was rewarded for a great forward line tackle and made no mistake for the Ashers; however, a minute later Sam Lynch finished the game off well for the Cardinals, snapping the ball high around his body for Old Scotch’s 15^th goal, giving them a convincing 59-point win.

Mazenod is one of several teams hovering perilously between finals action and relegation danger, and the key to rising above in this situation is beating the teams below you. So they had the perfect opportunity when they faced Peninsula in Round 11. Coach Ben Phibbs was back in for the Nodders, while Peninsula was without regular contributors Ben Southam, Tory Taylor and Sam Harrison. In a low-scoring first half, the Nodders didn’t kick straight, and as a result, Peninsula found themselves with a two-point lead. They got the jump in the third, with three goals in the first eight minutes coming from Sam Glenn, Thomas Wilkinson and Alex Wood. Coach Phibbs got one back for Mazenod in the middle stages and the scoring dried up for a while, before Mazenod kicked four goals in the final nine minutes of the term: Liam Riley finished off from an uncontested mark, Chris Campbell converted a free from a stoppage and Gus Patti took a strong contested mark and kicked truly. As a result, the Nodders took an eight-point lead into the final change. Peninsula kicked the first of the final term and found themselves within one point, but two steadying goals for the Nodders gave them a 13-point win and kept them within one game of the top four. Peninsula is now ninth after Old Carey leap-frogged them with their third win of the season.

Ajax and Old Carey came into their clash with vastly different form lines: Ajax had won four of their last five and were sitting pretty in fourth, while Old Carey were languishing in ninth having lost four in a row. Both sides made four changes and the Jackas were without Charles Hamilton and Stuart Fayman. The first half was a low-scoring affair, with both sides managing just three goals each. The game opened up in the third. Dean Rotenberg kicked things off with a clever snap after the ball was tapped back in from a shot for goal. Andrew Sloan replied with a snap of his own, finishing off some good work from Jordan Ceppi. Sloan had another opportunity soon after, but passed short to Sam Cust who kicked truly. Richie Simon’s long bomb was off-target, but the Panther kick-in went straight to Alex Wollan, who was also unable to convert. Daniel Goodman took a mark on the lead and got the Jackas back in the contest. Old Carey then kicked four straight behinds over the next seven minutes, before George Curnow took a contested mark and finished the quarter off well for the Panthers. Taking a nine-point lead into the final term, Old Carey finished with four goals to one, giving them a comfortable six-goal win and putting them temporarily out of the relegation zone. Despite the loss, Ajax remain in fourth but now have Mazenod hot on their trail.

With just one win in their previous five matches, Fitzroy came up against ladder leaders Old Brighton. The Roys made an incredible nine changes to their line-up, and names missing included Stevic, Lazzaro, Turner, Ellis and Luke Baker. They brought in six players for their first game of the season, and were well served by Daniel Megennis, Rory Patterson and Bill Clayton. The Tonners made five changes of their own, and were missing Andrew Dewar and Nick Coroneos. Youngster Anthony Zimmerman made an impressive debut, kicking four goals. Playing eight men in defence, Fitzroy managed to stay with the competition benchmark for the first three quarters, going into the last break within three goals. The Tonners began to take a tighter grip on the game in the third term with Oliver Cavallaro kicking three goals, converting chances sent his way by Michael Dewar and Michael Karayannis. The Tonners’ defence, again led superbly by Dylan Verney’s dash and judgement, Ben Austen and Stuart Hooy, limited the Lions’ chances but the home side cashed in on the three opportunities they made running out of defence. The Tonners ran away with it in the final term, with goals from Mastromanno, Cavallaro, Karayannis and Tom King giving them a 39-point win.