Power forward still alive & kicking in William Buck Premier

Nick Armistead – @NickArmistead

In a competition where fast-paced, run-and-gun football has long been a staple of the VAFA coach’s arsenal, Matt Handley’s performance on the weekend was a firm reminder the key forward is arguably the most important position on the field irrespective of section, league or association. While having a bevy of smalls is of the utmost importance to applying pressure and maintaining possession in the forward half, having an outlet who can either take a contested mark or create a contest and bring the ball to ground is invaluable.

When that outlet can kick 50% of your side’s goals and help break a four-game losing streak, they are more than deserving of having their name chanted from behind the goals at Toorak Park.

Handley proved the difference between Old Xaverians and St Bedes/Mentone Tigers on Saturday when his seven goals helped the Xavs to a four-point victory. It was as thrilling a final term as you are likely to see, with the Tigers taking a seven-point lead following a pair of cracking goals from Robert Iudica & Nathan Smith before Handley stepped up with two in a row. Brendan Goss then sealed the deal with a goal in the dying minutes. The win marks the start of a new era at Toorak Park as senior coach, Matt Hannebery, claimed his first victory in charge. St Bedes/Mentone Tigers have now lost four in a row by an average losing margin of just 12.75. Three of their losses have been by eight points or less. Despite kicking an improved 12.13 on the weekend, the Tigers’ total sits at 46.73 and they are yet to kick more goals than behinds in a game this season. Nathan Smith’s five-goal haul took his season tally to 13 from five games, while Michael Barnes continued the outstanding form that earnt him selection in the Big V squad earlier this week.

It’s been 13 years since Old Scotch and St Kevin’s OB met during the home and away season (they missed each other when swapping sections at the end of 2015), and it was the reigning premiers who kicked away in the final term and secured a 33-point victory at Camberwell Sports Ground. Leading by 12 points after a gutsy display from the Cardinals, SKOB kicked four goals to one with Panayioti Karageorgiou top-scoring with three in his first senior game since 2016. It was Henry Parkes’ 100^th game (99 senior and one reserves) after the former schoolboy formed part of the 2011 APS premiership side. Amazingly, Parkes shared last year’s William Buck Premier flag with eight of his teammates from the ‘11 school side; including, Will Coates, Sam Critchley, Chris Gleeson, Gerard Gleeson, Billy Kanakis, Callum Matheson, Connor Ross and Jason Salopek. Trivial facts aside, SKOB continue to glide through 2018 in similar fashion to last year with the ability to flick a switch and dominate sides within a short period of time. Jack Bull and Nick Jamieson were the best of the Cardinals as they suffered their fifth straight loss. Much has been made of the Cardinals’ ability to stifle their opponents’ scoring and it was no different for the first three quarters on Saturday where they kept SKOB to 65 points – their second-lowest 3QT total in 2018.

Despite giving up the last five goals of the game, Old Brighton held on for a thrilling two-point win over University Blues at the Uni Oval. The Tonners led by 34 points at three quarter time and increased their lead when Nick Pavlou booted his fourth goal for the game less than two minutes into the fourth, but from there it was all the Blues. Two goals to Dan Batarilo and a trio of fellow Blues (+ three posters) brought the margin to within three points before a clearing kick from the defensive 50 ended up in the hands of Ayce Cordy on the siren 45m out from goal. Unfortunately for Blues fans, Cordy’s kick was touched on the line and ended what would have been one of the great comebacks. A case could be made for a score review minutes earlier when Tom Quinn thought he may have snuck one past the post, but in any case, the Tonners’ were crowned deserved winners for their fifth on the trot. Fraser Gregson was named best afield and Harry Hill likely polled Woodrow votes yet again, while Tim Harper starred with five goals for the Blues. The Tonners’ current form is one of the great stories of 2018 after coming up with plans to simply secure their safety in William Buck Premier. Instead, they sit third and three wins inside the top four. The Blues fall to 1-4 and three games outside the four but will be buoyed by Tim Geappen’s return to the forward 50.

A George Burbury masterclass led Collegians to their second consecutive 5-0 start as they defeated Old Melburnians by 36 points at Harry Trott Oval. Burbury was at his best with four goals, while Taylor Hunt, Sam Hibbins & Viv Michie showed why they are regarded as one of the best midfields in the competition – if not the best. After kicking just five goals in his first four games, Al Armstrong returned to his best form with five of OM’s seven majors. OMs, who remain fifth with two wins, were trailing by just two points at the final break but allowed six goals to one as the Lions’ mids got on top. Josh Freezer’s form across half back is a standout of the OMs game at the moment and he will be one of the first players locked away for the senior representative side’s match against the Adelaide Footy League next month. As for the Lions, they trail just SKOB in points for and against, proving it will take something special to knock either team out of a grand final spot.

Old Trinity returned to form in front of their home crowd via a 34-point victory over De La Salle at Daley Oval. After suffering their first loss of the year to SKOB last week, the T’s bounced back with four goals to one in the opening term and a further 10 to seven for the remainder for the match. If Seb Nicolosi’s form hadn’t warranted enough attention yet in 2018, his seven goals on the weekend has certainly brought about deserved praise for the T’s forward. His ability to take an overhead mark is second-to-none for a player his size as he proves a difficult match-up for any opponent. After debuting in Round 1, Anthony Larkey, 18, starred for the T’s and was named best afield alongside Anthony Scott and Jack Hunt. Jake Williams and Antony Forato impressed for De La and Liam Murphy did his rising star chances no harm with another outstanding display. However, they’ve now lost three in a row and four of their first five by an average of 58.5 points. A home game against SBMT is of the utmost importance for both sides this weekend as both look to claim their second win of the year.

Feature photo: Ari Hatzis