Fields down Scotch, capture top spot

Jake Morris

In what was one of the more impressive four-quarter displays so far this season, Caulfield Grammarians defeated Old Scotch to claim top spot and premiership favoritism in a 69-point beatdown. Elsewhere, Parkdale, Beaumaris and St Bedes/Mentone all returned to the winners list while University Blacks continued to steamroll as they grabbed their fifth win in six games.

Entering their Round 6 contest on an ugly four-game losing streak, St Bedes/Mentone Tigers were finally able to lodge their second victory of the year by downing Old Geelong by 42 points. An epidemic which has plagued the Tigers so far this year has been their accuracy in-front of goal (56.78), and after a 0.7 first quarter, it looked to be much of the same early. Despite the slow start, Michael Hazell and company went on to boot 14 of the last 20 goals of the game, en-route to a stellar come-from-behind win. Josh Cowan booted four while former AFL player Billy Hartung was named BOG. Callum Wood kicked four majors for the OGs as they dropped their fourth game in five outings, a disappointing return to Premier B so far for Nick Bourke’s men.

Brunswick Street Oval played host to our closest and most thrilling matchup of Round 6, as Beaumaris came to town and outlasted a gallant Fitzroy by just five points. A game that was separated by single-digits for most of the afternoon, it was the Sharks who escaped with the four points to register their third win on the year and stay in striking distance of a top-four spot. With prominent forward target Christopher Grigoriadis being held to just one goal on the afternoon, it was third gamer Matthew Petering stepping up to fill the void, amassing three majors, to help keep the Roys at bay. For Fitzroy, Max Davie kicked three while eight of his teammates got on the scoresheet, a season-high for goal-scorers in an afternoon for the Roys.

Fresh off a disastrous 86-point hiding, the Parkdale Vultures were eager to right their wrongs and move back into top-four consideration with a strong win over the Monash Blues. Despite trailing at quarter time, the Vultures booted 19 of the final 22 goals of the game, including a nine-goal-to-one third term, to put the result beyond doubt. Jack Love kicked four while Charlie Dillon booted three, helping Parkdale amass seven multiple goal-scorers on the afternoon and their highest scoring total so far this year. The Blues were beaten soundly after a strong performance in Round 5, a reminder to Mark Passador’s men that a week is a long time in football. James Taylor booted three and was a standout in what was an otherwise blue afternoon for the Blues.

In what was arguably the most anticipated match-up so far this season, headlined by the final two unbeaten sides entering Round 6, it was the Caulfield Grammarians who came up victorious, defeating Old Scotch and snatching top spot in the process. Led by Keegan Stewart and Julian Dobosz, the Fields’ applied immense scoreboard pressure from the outset, piling on five-goals-to-nil in the opening stanza, a lead they would never squander. Coupled with their ability to score the ball, the Fields’ dominance in the middle to restrict the Cards’ ball use, tied with their elite back-six, made life incredibly hard for their opponents. Averaging over 124 points per match this year, Old Scotch were held to just 40, their lowest score since Round 18 2016, a testament to how dominant the Fields’ were.

Our final matchup for Round 6 saw the firepower of the University Blacks take down Old Haileybury by 49 points. A day out for Daniel McCullough with a bag of eight majors guided his side to a comfortable victory, and a handy lead on the goal kicking tally, nine ahead of fellow teammate Lachlan Huntington and Beaumaris’ Christopher Grigoriadis. Averaging over 119-points a contest, the Blacks now have the strongest forward line in the competition, and despite their one defeat, are still right in the mix for a premiership and promotion come season’s end. Durras Seccull kicked five for the Bloods but it was all to no avail, as the firepower the Blacks possess simply outmatched their counterparts.