The Battle of Beach Road: Old Brighton topple the Tigers

Bailey Berry

Winter is coming. The first weekend of May delivered blistering cold conditions across Melbourne. The long sleeves were dusted off as 10 of the VAFA’s most exciting young teams battled it out. Every team bar one has registered two wins thus far.

Round 4 presented some convincing victories as injuries, fatigue, and formlines begin to manifest.

Old Brighton def. St. Bedes/Mentone Tigers by 83 points

After a strong start to the season, St. Bedes/Mentone were only able to register one goal the entire morning. In what was a bleak affair, SBMT seemed as if they didn’t show up. They’ll look to put that one behind them and reinvigorate themselves for round 5.

Though it is worth mentioning that five of St. Bedes’ most promising U19 players interestingly featured in their seniors on the weekend, a promising sign for the next generation of Tigers.

Old Brighton defended their fortress in tremendous fashion. The windy chill off Brighton Beach didn’t stop the the Tonners from slotting 15 majors. This may prove to be the dominant win that jumpstarts their season.

Travers, T. Howden, T. Marriott, L. Mccluskey & J. Lohan were the best afield for the prevailing Tonners. Kai Dimattina slotted a quarter of the team’s overall score with four goals.

SBMT will look to capitalise on the struggling St. Bernards in RD5. Old Brighton will host the University Blues at home.

University Blues def by. St. Kevins by 28 points.

SKOB took their third win of the season and now sit at the top of the U19 Premier ladder. The club placed an emphasis on their top level U19s prior to this season, ensuring they were going to challenge the top tier of the competition.

So far they’ve shown tremendous improvement on the back of a few leaner seasons. SKOB were able to lock down in the second half, only conceding two points to the opposition. 

Uni are now one of seven teams who sit 2-2 on the season. They’ve shown glimpses of class and will look to build upon that moving forward. Though they’ve posted some low scores thus far and will need to focus on converting their opportunities.

Ryan, T. O”Brien, C. Kays, J. Kearns, O. Clifford & T. Ingram were judged the best afield for Uni. Whilst N. Tonge, S. Jones, J. Romanin, B. Bryan & O. Doyle were all superb for the winning side.

Uni will face an in-form Old Brighton this weekend. St. Kevins will host De La Salle at T H King Oval.

Old Xaverians def. St Bernards by 67 points.

St. Bernards now find themselves 0-4 in U19 Premier. They didn’t register a score in the second half and conceded nearly 100 points yet again. They’ll desperately attempt to regroup this week in order to save the season before it’s too late.

Old Xavier brought solid effort throughout and walked away with a hard-fought victory. They currently sit second on the ladder and received a nice percentage boost from this contest. It’s no secret they intend to go back-to-back, uncompromising wins like this will only aid in that quest.

Will Exell and Charlie Ralph combined for 4 majors for the Xavs. Whilst T. Basile, D. Gilham, S. Guida, T. Lowrie, J. Rendelmann & F. Shannon did all they could to try secure St. Bernards their first win of 2023.

St. Bernards will host SBMT at home in RD4. Xavs will go up against Williamstown CYMS. 

Old Scotch def. De La Salle by 19 points.

Two very evenly matched teams tussled it out at Camberwell Sports Ground on Saturday afternoon.

Scotch entered the match with a point to prove, narrowly losing to SBMT in RD3. They led for most of the contest, Harry Robenstone again proved vital, scoring five majors. They’re now 2-2 but are a very capable side.

De La proved a tough competitor but weren’t quite able to prevail. Their form has slightly slumped since their opening two victories of the season. They’ll reassess and adjust their personnel up forward.

Torey-Toth, S. Filipovic, P. Russell, J. Stewart, J. Miller & J. Pickles were stand outs for De La Salle.

De La will clash with an in-form St. Kevins this coming Saturday. Scotch will face Caulfield at home. 

Williamstown CYMS def. Caulfield Grammarians by 46 points.

Caulfield couldn’t come back from their sluggish first half. They scored seven points whilst their opponent notched up 7.7. They got themselves back into the contest later in the game, but it was simply too late. These teams shouldn’t be 46 points in difference.

Williamstown utilised their home deck to a tee. The wet and windy environment didn’t halt their goal kicking haul whatsoever. The CY’s showcased a unified and cohesive team performance. Aiden Williams was judged best afield with five majors for the day.

Fraser, J. Iverson, L. Bevis, J. Atkinson, H. Mcinerney & J. Wallace were all admirable in a losing side.

Williamstown will travel to face the Old Xavierans. Caulfield will look to bounce back against Old Scotch.