A round to remember in Premier B

Jake Morris

A shock weekend of Premier B action has flipped the competition on its head, with upsets aplenty setting up what is sure to be a thrilling final five weeks of the regular season.

Kicking us off for Round 13 was arguably the upset of the year, with Beaumaris entering the hostile surroundings of Glenhuntly Oval and escaping with the four-points in thrilling fashion over Caulfield Grammarians. Holding a slim six-point lead with the Fields’ streaming forward, a strong tackle from Oscar McMaster inside their defensive fifty with just seconds left saved the Sharks from potential heartbreak, as they held on to register win number seven and more importantly, hold onto a top-four spot. Now dropping back-to-back games, the Fields’ have started to reveal some chinks in their armour, with the seemingly unstoppable force now showing some fatigue as the season edges towards the pointy end. Despite still holding onto top spot, Simon Williams’ men will need to plug the holes fast before they’re swarmed by the hungry field.

Winding themselves back into form after a mid-season lull was University Blacks, as they registered their third win in a row in an old-fashioned, scrappy victory of Old Scotch. Thanks to a five-goal-to-one third quarter, headlined by goals to Bede Mahon, Campbell Moorfield, Samuel McKenzie and two from Hugh Curnow, the Blacks eclipsed their eight-point half-time deficit and turned it into an insurmountable 20-point lead heading into the last, enough to etch win number nine and lodge themselves deep into third spot. Unable to replicate their performance against the Fields’, Scotch were held to their second lowest scoring total on the year, with Josh Halsall the only player contributing multiple majors. No doubt a disappointing result for a side that could have moved into top spot with a victory.

Ending a brutal six-game losing streak with an average losing margin of 52 points, Old Geelong have lodged one in the win column with a dominating performance over Fitzroy. Completing what amounted to be their biggest win on the year, the Ogs meshed the perfect balance between scoring and pressure in this one. Piling on a season high six-goals in the opening term, and season-high 108-points total, Old Geelong also managed to keep the Roys’ goalless for the second and third term, a feat they have achieved just six times all season. Despite the victory keeping them in ninth, Nick Bourke’s men move to within just one game of sixth placed Old Haileybury. Unfortunately for the Roys, the defeat now sees them occupy the bottom of the table outright, and are now in big trouble to not remain in Premier B for 2020.

Here come the Blues! Monash Blues have now won back-to-back games for the first time since Rounds 12 and 13 in 2018 after they dispatched Parkdale by 61-points. Much like Old Geelong, the Blues found their kicking boots this weekend, posting their second 100+ point total performance of the year, while also keeping the Vultures scoreless for the entirety of the opening term – a season first. A miniature purple-patch of form from the Blues has lifted them out of the relegation zone and above the line, an encouraging sign as Mark Passador’s young side continues to grow. Now sitting in seventh with three straight losses and defeats in six of their last seven outings, the Vultures season is seemingly on the brink of collapse, as they now sit precariously on the edge of the dreaded relegation bubble.

Our final clash of Round 13 saw St Bedes/Mentone Tigers and Old Haileybury play out a classic, with the Tigers surviving by the skin of their teeth in a one-point thriller. A hard fought contest in the dying moments of the match could have seen Old Haileybury kick after the siren for the game went by the wayside, but alas it instead allowed SBMT to snag win number seven in what was a day out for Nathan Smith with five massive goals. The victory sees St Bedes keep pace with the top-four, sitting just 4% behind Beaumaris, while the Bloods remain in sixth, but now sit two games out of the four, with this defeat leaving them thinking about what could have been.