Beaumaris claim derby as Old Geelong earn bragging rights in Grand Final Rematch

Josh Heriot

As the bugles rang out across Melbourne on Saturday, round two in Premier B was filled with plenty of significant results as the ladder begins to take shape. 

We’ve seen teams hit the ground running in 2023 with Beaumaris, Fitzroy, and St Bernard’s proving the most impressive after the first two weeks. Meanwhile consecutive loses to three teams has put them on the back foot early with plenty of chasing to do in order to stay in touch. 

What was dubbed to be one of the closer contests of the weekend between De La Salle and St Bernard’s was overshadowed by two significant injuries. De La Salle were rattled early on in the match with unfortunate injuries which forced the game to be delayed by 30 minutes. Despite losing two players early, De La Salle were able to stick with the Snowdogss and only trailed by 8-points at the main break of play. The second half again saw a gallant effort from De La Salle to compete, but the Snowdogs were able to kick away in the last quarter. Three goals to Luke Di Lizio for the second week in a row was a major booster for St Bernard’s as he begins his 2023 season in tremendous style. Charlie Vague was also able to hit the scoreboard for the Snowdogs as they recorded their first win at the Snakepit this season. While there was no love lost for De La Salle fans and they can walk away contempt with the effort on what can only be described as a tough day. 

Old Trinity this week were on the winners list with a comfortable victory against AJAX by 30-points. Ed Weatherson was the star of the afternoon with five majors and a best on ground performance. Weatherson was striking the footy pure and inspired the T’s to their first win in Premier B since being relegated last season. Young gun Miles Scott was strong during the course of the afternoon, hitting the scoreboard and finding the footy while ruckman Harry Thompson provided good representation around the ground also. AJAX were kept to just one goal during the first quarter of play but on a positive note were able to peg goals back in the second quarter to trail by 4-points at half time. Jonah Micmacher provided potency for AJAX throughout the afternoon but it wasn’t quite enough. Unfortunately for AJAX they begin the season with two straight defeats with a huge round three contest against De La Salle to come. 

Another game with added interest was the Premier C grand final rematch contested between 2022 premiers Monash Blues and Old Geelong. Bragging rights for the new season were up for grabs. Old Geelong on this occasion were victorious and got out of the blocks fast with the first goal of the afternoon. Luke Morfoot was influential right around the ground for Old Geelong and added to the scoreboard with two goals along with Nicholls who kicked four majors. Monash Blues were kept in the game with a huge performance from Nic Darling who kicked seven goals for the game and registered a best on ground game for the Blues. Monash are another team to begin on the back foot this season and will be hoping to crack their first win this weekend against Trinity. 

In their traditional Anzac weekend clash, Fitzroy were able to get the better of Williamstown CYMS at the Brunswick Street Oval. Last year, both sides had the opportunity to play on Anzac Day with Fitzroy also claiming victory in a tight game. Saturday however, saw Fitzroy continuing to dominate in the early part of the season. It was the biggest win of round two for any side with the end margin blowing out to 81-points. The Roys had nine individual goal scorers for the afternoon with six of their 18 goals coming from Harrison Grace who also featured in the best alongside Ted Clayton. For Williamstown, they just fell away in the second half with Fitzroy kicking seven goals to one in the third quarter and it flipped the game. 

The other big win came from the local derby with Beaumaris claiming a well-rounded 78-point victory against St Bedes/Mentone. Beaumaris finished with 11 individual goal kickers, the highest of any Premier B side for the weekend with three players each kicking three goals. Riley Mihailovic provided tremendously for the Sharks with a powerful first quarter as they kicked 8 goals to the Tigers two goals. It set up the afternoon though for the Sharks as they raced away with the win. James Mangoni emerged as a shining light for the Tigers as he tried to keep them in the game with four goals. 

With round three to come this weekend, will we continue to see Fitzroy, St Bernard’s and Beaumaris skipping away?

Old Geelong will be hoping to stop Fitzroy at Como Park and after coming off a win in round two, it might just give them some more confidence in the build up to this game. Meanwhile Monash Blues will be aiming to get their first win in Premier B this season as they head to Bulleen to face Trinity. Williamstown will also be looking to break the streak of loses to begin this season and they’ll have to face St Bedes/Mentone.

Waverley Oval will see De La Salle host AJAX for the Bernie Sheehy Cup and its tipped to be a great contest with De La Salle hoping to rebound after a difficult weekend. But the final game to round out the weekend will see two in form sides meet at St Bernard’s College with the Snowdog’s and Beaumaris to face off in a massive clash. Both sides are looking to remain undefeated in the first three rounds.

The Snakepit has long been a fortress for St Bernard’s over the years but a win to Beaumaris would make things all the more fascinating in 2023.