Four fight for fourth in William Buck Premier

Nick Armistead – @NickArmistead

The William Buck Premier top three is all but solidified with University Blues (10-3), Old Xaverians (10-3) and St Kevin’s OB (9-4) occupying the top end of the ladder. The race for fourth, however, is heating up after Collegians and Old Brighton missed opportunities to give themselves breathing space while St Bernard’s and Old Melburnians forced their way right back into the conversation.

Collegians are still in the box seat to secure fourth spot in this year’s finals series and subsequently raise their hand as arguably the team of the decade (2010-19) but let’s leave that conversation for another day. They went down to SKOB by 11 points at Harry Trott on Saturday but weren’t without their chances after leading by 16 at the half. The phrase ‘bad kicking is bad football’ is about as unhelpful as the Leigh Matthews goals-to-minutes-left rule but it’s safe to say Will Johnson left his kicking boots on trainers’ table after the key forward registered 0.6 in the opening half. When he straightens up though – guns are prone to misfiring at some point – the one-two punch he and Anthony Bruhn (4 goals) form will be as potent as any in the competition. From a SKOB perspective, Lachie Sullivan’s importance to their midfield was on show again with 28 disposals and eight clearances while Billy Kanakis kicked three in another sensational duel with Al Fahie.

After falling to St Bernard’s in Round 8, Old Brighton were primed to even the score at home and cement (at least) fifth spot but fell agonisingly short when Ben Jakobi scraped the inside of the post with his final kick on the siren. While disappointing for the Tonners, it really should never have come down to the final moments as they trailed the Snow Dogs by 15 points at the half and only found themselves within striking distance due to Harry Hill’s inspired four-goal performance and Elliot Le Grice’s continued excellence. Jack McNamara went beast mode in the Snow Dog’s forward 50 with four of his side’s six goals in the first half and finished the game with a season-high six after kicking just one over the past two games. A percentage of 97.98% is the main factor working against the Snow Dogs in their pursuit of finals with the three teams around them significantly higher.

The three-quarter time siren rang at Waverley Oval and Old Melburnians’ season seemed all but over as they trailed De La Salle by 10 points. The home side, sitting in ninth spot on the ladder, required the points for completely different reasons but were unable to hold on as Tom Paule, George Hurley-Wellington and Jackson Paine all lifted and helped the OM’s to a much-needed albeit unconvincing victory. OM’s are the most difficult team to describe and predict because of their top-end talent – Josh Freezer, Paule, Paine, Gus Borthwick, Andrew Tashevski-Beckwith, Nick De Steiger et al – but the entire squad’s inability to piece together four quarters leaves you scratching your head. One thing is for sure, if this year’s recruits stick it out, they’ll be a lot stronger in 2020 for the run. It was an inspired performance from De La after they’d been ravaged by injury over the past few weeks and lost schoolboy Nicholas Bufalo early in the match. Hugh Nicholson must be leading their B&F by the length of Sean Masterson’s vertical leap after he accumulated 41 disposals and seven tackles.

Old Trinity created space between themselves and De La with a 29-point victory over Old Carey giving them a one-game and 26% buffer. Speaking to my old friend Max McGraw recently and, being the VAFA savant he is, directed me to a piece of information regarding the T’s and their proclivity for draws following their second of the season just last week. Since the start of the 2011 season, there have been just 13 draws in William Buck Premier, equating to exactly one every 60 games. Unbelievably, the T’s (who spent 2013 in Premier B), have played in six of those 13 from their 138 games and as it currently stands draws may be what distances them from De La come season’s end. As for the Panthers, you could never accuse them of giving up as they ran the game out with five goals to one. They’ve now outscored their opponents in three of their last five fourth quarters.

In the final game of R13, University Blues reacquainted themselves with top spot on the ladder following their 63-point win over Old Xaverians at Toorak Park. While only 15 points separated the two sides at the last break, the Blues simply outclassed Xavs in the fourth with eight individual goal kickers booting nine between them. The bye seems to have rejuvenated the Blues given they’ve averaged 116.5ppg since the break, while Xavs have posted their two lowest scores at an average of 51.5. It’s a world away from the 107ppg they were putting up prior to the bye but the beauty of dominating the first half of the year means you can have these lapses and iron them out ahead of finals.