Collegians vs St Kevin’s OB: Round 2

Nick Armistead – @NickArmistead

After losing the second semi-final against Collegians, St Kevin’s OB entered their match against Old Trinity with a point to prove. It’s safe to say they proved it.

In one of the most impressive displays of unwavering physicality seen in recent years, SKOB opened their preliminary final with eight goals to four, sending a message to all those who questioned the 2017 premiers after losing both Sam Critchley and Stephen Gilham for the season.

Nick Wood, Lachie Sullivan and Anthony Lynch set the tone with their pressure on the ball carrier and around the contest unprecedented. Barring a period in the second term where Trinity threatened to make inroads on the scoreboard, SKOB demonstrated why Amateur football is the best non-professional football in the country.

Tom Jok’s inclusion after returning from Collingwood VFL duties reaped instant reward, while Mitch Brown recovered from concussion suffered in the second semi with four goals in a best-on-ground performance.

By no means were Trinity poor; they were simply up against one of the best two sides in the competition. Losing Harry Tinney to a broken hand prior to the match hurt, but Anthony Scott, Sam Joyce and Jack Hunt were among those who stood tall for the T’s.

The highlight of the day was certainly the guard of honour formed for retiring champion, Brendan Iezzi. Both sides and a large group of supporters lined up to send off the two-time Woodrow Medallist in an emotional and touching tribute to one of our Associations’ finest competitors. If SKOB’s performance demonstrated the strength of our competition on the field, this act alone showcased the spirit of our community off it.

Bernie Dinneen’s men were sensational in 2018 and with players the ilk of Harry Thompson, Seb Nicolosi, Ben Howell and Scott taking their games to a new level this season, the future is bright for the T’s.   

Preview

14 times have the same two sides met in consecutive grand finals in the VAFA’s top section and nine of those have been back-to-back victories. History suggests SKOB has a 64% chance of victory this weekend. The second semi-final, however, may suggest otherwise.

Collegians held on in the final moments of the last meeting between these two sides, with Hugh Johnson soccering the game-winner with three minutes remaining on the clock. It was an important victory for the Lions after they missed out on the minor premiership following a Round 18 loss to Old Trinity and the week’s break came at an ideal time as they look forward to welcoming Tom Penberthy, Will Johnson and Matt Singleton back into their line-up for the decider.

SKOB, who spent 12 weeks on top of the ladder this season, fought valiantly in the second semi after losing Gilham, Critchley and Brown but, as mentioned earlier, really returned to form in last weekend’s preliminary final against the T’s. They will be vying for their second William Buck Premier flag after last year’s three-point victory over the Lions, while Collegians will be looking for their 18th.

Head to Head

After these two sides met on the last day in 2017, it took until Round 8 for the highly-anticipated re-match where the Lions ran out 28-point winners at Harry Trott. Fast-forward to Round 12 and SKOB flipped the script with a hard-fought seven-point victory at St Kevin’s College. The Lions hold a 2-1 lead after their second semi-final win two weeks ago, making it 3-3 over the past two years.

On-Ball Battle

Collegians: Tom Penberthy, Viv Michie, Courtney Hylton, Kenny Ong and Sam Hibbins

St Kevin’s OB: Anthony Lynch, Mitch Brown, Nick Wood, Gerard Gleeson and Lachie Sullivan

Stars everywhere. Absolutely everywhere.

Key Match-ups

Al Fahie (Coll) vs Billy Kanakis (SKOB) – The competition’s leading goal kicker vs the William Buck Premier Team of the Year defender. This match-up alone could decide the outcome of the game.

Tom Penberthy (Coll) vs Anthony Lynch (SKOB) – If Penberthy returns after a lengthy injury layoff, he will be required to stem the ruck dominance of Lynch – a big man who uses his size as well as any player in the competition. Two Big V ruckmen going head-to-head is about as mouth-watering a prospect as you’re likely to get and the risk of playing Penberthy for the first time since Round 11 is well worth taking.

Will Johnson (Coll) vs Will Coates (SKOB) – Johnson was leading the goal kicking prior to injury earlier this season with nine goals in his first two games and four outings of four goals or more from his 10 matches. This weekend, he will come up against one of, if not, the best stopper in William Buck Premier and one of the only defenders who can match Johnson’s strength.

George Burbury (Coll) vs Conor Ross (SKOB) – A dream match-up of the classy Big V skipper against the defender who you would want to line up next to each week of the season.

Young Guns

Collegians: Nathan Boucher and Fraser Cameron

St Kevin’s OB: Cam Hodges and Sam Barnett

Both sides boast young talent throughout their line-ups but expect these four to make a real impact when required. Hodges and Barnett formed part of the successful Big V U19s while both Boucher and Cameron have made an impact at VFL level this year.

X-Factors

Collegians: Lachlan Ferguson

St Kevin’s OB: Tom Jok

It seems strange to call Ferguson and Jok ‘x-factors’ given both are bona fide stars but the fact is for either side to win, these two will need to be at the forefront.