Beauy outduel Bedes for fourth, Fields & Cards elite

Jake Morris

On the back of a Sunny Brazier first-quarter masterclass, Fitzroy have survived the relegation cull to return to Premier B in 2020 after they downed Beaumaris 11 points. Despite sitting in the bottom two for 16 of the 18 rounds this year, the Roys managed back-to-back wins at the end of the season to lift themselves up to 7^th and finish their year with a respectable six wins. Brazier’s four-goal first term set the wheels in motion for Fitzroy as they burst out of the gates to an insurmountable 39-point lead at the opening break, a lead they wouldn’t squander as the day continued. Despite the defeat, Beaumaris still managed to cling to fourth spot and will now travel to Box Hill City Oval to face a scorching hot University Blacks in Semi Final 1 on Sunday afternoon.

As the Sharks advance into September, it was St Bedes/Mentone Tigers the unlucky ones to come up short, with Old Scotch refusing to allow their fellow 2018 William Buck Premier side feature in finals action with a comfortable 34-point victory. After a Ben Dance major to begin the final term brought the margin back to just four-points, the Cards’ would kick the next five, with a Tom Downie to Conor O’Beirne special from a stoppage in the dying stages the final nail in the coffin for the Tigers year. Scotch finish their home & away season with the best goal-kicking percentage in the competition at just under 55% in front of the big sticks (267/487) and will need all of that as they square off with ladder-leaders Caulfield Grammarians in the second Semi-Final at Box Hill City Oval on Saturday.

Rounding themselves into form that could see them re-enter William Buck Premier for the first time since 2012 was Caulfield Grammarians, as they produced a record-breaking 171-point victory over Old Geelong to secure the minor premiership, increase their average winning margin to 72-points and knock their counterparts into Premier C. Dominating from siren-to-siren, the Fields managed to pile on seven goals in the opening term, eight in the second, eight in the third and 11 in the last to set a club record for most points scored (223) and largest margin of victory. Fields’ forward Julian Dobosz also captured the goal-kicking award with 48 goals from just 10 games, with the big man set to go against Scotch giant Tom Downie in what is sure to be a mouth-watering contest. Old Geelong will return to C grade for 2020 after just one season in Premier B, looking to bounce back and potentially secure the premiership that eluded them in 2018.

Joining the OGs in Premier C will be Monash Blues as they failed to get out of the gates against an impressive Old Haileybury to go down by 69 points, ending their four-year stay in Premier B. Despite a slow start which saw them trail at the opening break, the Bloods booted 17 of the next 20 goals to cruise past the Blues and do more than enough to return to the competition next season. Corey Rich bagged six in just his third game for Haileybury while first-gamer Brede Seccull kicked three en route to their largest margin of victory for the year. Premier C will be a challenge for Mark Passador’s young side, but they are certainly classy enough to warrant a return in 2021.

Our final clash for the home & away season witnessed Parkdale Vultures almost pull off a remarkable upset as they pushed University Blacks right to the edge but ultimately fell short by 13 points. The Vultures kept the inaccurate Blacks at bay for the opening three quarters, before falling victim to the class of one of the premiere sides of the section in the last, conceding 7.6 to 3.2 to get overrun in a fantastic contest. A Will Fordham major at the 29-minute mark of the final quarter tied the scores, before Daniel McCollough and Joel Ernest each kicked a major in the final six minutes to secure their sides eighth win in a row, setting up a “do or die” clash with Beaumaris on Sunday afternoon at Box Hill City Oval.