The ANZAC spirit inspires big wins in round 3

Eliza Wright

The ANZAC spirit encompasses endurance, courage, ingenuity, good humour, and mateship – all of which could be seen on the footy field this week as round 3 paid respect to fallen Australian and New Zealand soldiers alongside returning servicemen and women.

Beaumaris earnt themselves another 4 points in their hit out against De La Salle as did the Uni Blacks in their victory over St Bedes Mentone. Old Haileybury took home a monster 101-point landslide over Old Carey and Fitzroy clutch their first win of the season against Williamstown.

Lead by their new coach Nick Hyland, De La Salle are still yet to snag their first victory of 2022 as they came off second best against Beaumaris at Banksia Reserve. With some early injuries for De La, the valiant efforts from Nick Curwood and Brodie Mclaughlin were no match for The Shark’s fortress down back. For his relentless efforts in the middle, leader Joel Di Natale was awarded The ANZAC medal while Joel Cusack was also among Beauy’s best, ending the day with 4 outstanding goals. De La will be eager to change their luck as they face AJAX for the Bernie Sheehy Cup meanwhile Beaumaris battle The Uni Blacks for second position.

The Uni Blacks remain in good form, taking home the 4 points against St Bedes Mentone at University Oval. A close game heading into the final term saw the Tigers trail by 5. With the game on the line, the Blackers, turned their gears up a notch, kicking away with another 8 goals resulting in a 42-point win over the tigers. Commendable efforts from Zac Calvez and Thomas Tyquin as well as late goals from Simon Richards, unfortunately, were not enough to get St Bedes Mentone across the line. Josh Steadman continued to bring the pressure in the middle for the Uni Blacks with Campbell Moorfield also heating up. St Bedes will head back home for the battle of the cats while the Uni Blacks won’t give up their second spot easily to Beaumaris.

In a contest between first and ninth on the ladder, Old Haileybury wounded the home team in their massive win over Old Carey. The Bloods shared the love around with 11 different goal kickers. Among them, Durras Seccull and Andreas Stefanakis booting 5 and 3 respectively. Exceptional determination from the Panther’s Lachlan Summers alongside debutant Connor Ogolive who secured a goal in his first senior match. Both sides will hit the road in round 4 with Old Haileybury headed down to Williamstown to face the CY’s and Old Carey are off to Mentone as the Panthers meet the Tigers.

To wrap up the round, Fitzroy and Williamstown went head-to-head at Brunswick Street Oval on Monday afternoon. This game saw the momentum shift at each stoppage, both teams hungry to wrestle the game onto their terms. In the end, Williamstown’s inaccuracy in front of goal coupled with Fitzory’s ability to take grass saw the scoreline fall in favour of The Roys. Persistent second efforts from Bill Clayton as well as speed and vision from ANZAC medallist Heath Ramshaw left Williamstown with few answers. For CY, Dean Cutajar worked hard all day in the backline while Nicholas Ebinger put his body on the line, taking colossal marks across the ground. Fitzroy look forward to a bye in the coming round as they desire to continue this upward trajectory. Williamstown return home to face Old Haileybury.