Beauy leap Bedes as Vultures ascend

Jake Morris

An electrifying first half of play in Round 16 saw Beaumaris re-claim their hold of fourth spot as they dominated a wayward Old Haileybury by 59 points at Princes Park. The always reliable Chris Grigoriadis and Matt Petering bagged three apiece, while Oscar McMaster was named best afield for his role across the middle of the ground and in the Beauy forward line. Durras Seccull kicked three for Haileybury with Peter Gleadhill receiving the votes in another disappointing day for their side. Now sitting 12% ahead of Bedes in fifth, the Sharks will travel to the University Oval for a HUGE clash with the Blacks this weekend, with a win almost assuring their spot in September, while the Bloods play Fitzroy who are fighting to lift out of the bottom two.

As the Sharks re-enter the four, it was St Bedes/Mentone Tigers who come falling out as they were soundly beaten by University Blacks by 110 points at Brindisi Street Oval. Led by Daniel McCollough (5) and Campbell Moorfield (4) up-forward, and the midfield class headed by Tom Swift and Bede Mahon, the Blacks ran rampant from the opening siren and never looked like being challenged as they recorded their largest margin of victory for the year. Ruckman Ben Dance was named the Tigers best who now find themselves in a very precarious position with two weeks to play, needing to win their final two games against the OGs and Scotch to feature in September. The Blacks will welcome Beaumaris for arguably the game of the round.

Lifting themselves out of the depths of the relegation race and ending their five-game losing streak in the process was Parkdale Vultures as they used a six-goal final term to run away from Old Geelong by 26 points at Gerry Green Reserve. Alex Derzekos and Liam Marshall each kicked three, while man of the match Jack Edwards was pivotal in the last as his 50m bomb midway through the term helped squash any chance of an OGs revival. On-baller John Simson and half-back Will Sloss gathered the votes for Old Geelong. Now finding themselves a game clear of the three-way tie for 10^th, the Vultures will try play David as they face the Goliath in Scotch, while the OGs, who sit just 0.15% adrift of 8^th placed Monash, face St Bedes at Como Park for the final time in 2019.

Speaking of Goliath, Old Scotch continued to go about their business as they downed Monash Blues by 39 points at Frearson Oval. A six-goal haul from club stalwart James Sansom led the Cards to their third straight victory, and eighth of their past nine games to keep level with Caulfield on the top of the table. William Mitchell was named BOG for his on-ball role, while Ben Hays and Tom Kerr also received the votes in another victory for Scotch. Blues midfielders Ben Hart and Beau Harris were named their sides best in a disappointing outcome as they continue to fight to keep their heads above the relegation mark. Scotch will look to make it four in a row as they face Parkdale while the Blues task to stay afloat doesn’t get much easier as they face ladder-leaders Caulfield in their final game of the year at Frearson Oval.

Our final clash for Round 16 saw Caulfield Grammarians notch their largest winning margin for the year as they accounted for Fitzroy by 120 points at Glenhuntly Oval. An 8.5 to 0.2 second term, followed by a 10.4 to 0.1 final quarter, helped the Fields gather another boost to their already lofty percentage, pushing it past 208%. An even spread of goal kickers headlined by Julian Dobosz (5), Ashley Krakauer (3), Brendon Goddard (3) and Keegan Stewart (3), allowed the Fields to trump their season-high margin of victory they set just a week ago. Tom O’Donnell was named the Roys’ best while Nino Lazzaro returned to the senior side and kicked three, his highest outing since his seven-goal performance in Round 8. Caulfield will now turn their attention to the Blues while Fitzroy will play their last home game of the season against Old Haileybury, with a loss locking them in for relegation to Premier C.