Tonners into William Buck Premier Men’s Grand Final while Lions’ title defence ends

And then there were three…

Collegians’ premiership defence came to a close while Old Brighton progressed to Grand Final Day on a wild & windy Super Saturday of William Buck Premier Men’s Semi-Finals.

1^st SEMI-FINAL: OLD SCOTCH vs COLLEGIANS

We will have a new VAFA William Buck Premier Men’s champion in 2024 after reigning premiers Collegians fell to Old Scotch in the First Semi-Final at Trevor Barker Beach Oval.

The Lions had the breeze at their back in the opening term, but it was the Cardinals who managed to sneak an early goal via Mackenzie Allen three minutes in.

From there, the quarter descended into a defensive struggle, with neither team able to find the middle of the goals – Allen’s early strike would prove to be the only major, with Collegians left to rue a wasted quarter with the wind where they held a slight advantage in most statistical categories but not the scoreboard.

QTR TIME:          Old Scotch 1.3 (9)        Collegians 0.3 (3)

The Lions found their first goal through Alex Lukic 2 minutes into the second term to level the scores, but the Cardinals exerted territorial dominance from thereon in.

It took them another 14 minutes to find the next goal. It eventually came off the boot of Will Clark to hand the Cardinals the lead, before Ben Hays added another 4 minutes later to give Old Scotch an 11-point buffer entering time-on in the second quarter.

James Tarrant then extended that lead to 3 goals at the 25-minute mark – the Cardinals heading to the major break with a handy 3-goal advantage in a tight, low-scoring affair. 18 Inside 50s to 6 telling the story of the quarter as Old Scotch took advantage of the wintry conditions.

HALF TIME:       Old Scotch 4.6 (30)     Collegians 1.6 (12)

The reigning premiers needed a good start to the third term to work their way back into the game, and once again, it was the dangerous Alex Lukic who provided the spark with two goals in the opening 5 minutes to draw the Lions back within 7 points as the Purple Army found its voice.

After delivering just 7 goals in over a half, the game suddenly sparked to life with 5 goals in 14 minutes.

Lukic’s third was followed by two to the Cards into the breeze, courtesy of Henry Brown & Angus Symons, which threatened to crack the game open as the margin extended to 19 points with Old Scotch winning the inside battle and pressure game, laying 21 tackles to 11 for the quarter and taking territory as a result.

Collegians had to respond and Ed Greene’s goal at the 18-minute mark temporarily reduced the margin, but it was quickly cancelled out by Will Clark’s response 90 seconds later as the game see-sawed entering time-on in the third.

Collegians continued to fight on and Greene’s second goal at the 27-minute mark sent the Lions to the three-quarter time huddle with belief that the game was still well and truly alive after a combined 7 goals were kicked in a more free-flowing third term.

3-QUARTER TIME:        Old Scotch 7.9 (51)     Collegians 5.6 (36)

The start to the final term was always going to prove decisive one way or the other and it was the Cardinals who seized control with goals to Henry Brown at the 4-minute mark, then Ryan Valentine two minutes later to open the margin out to 28 points.

Old Scotch’s dominance around the contest saw them control the ground ball and contested possessions, which prevented the Lions from getting their highly effective uncontested game going and the Cards completely dominated field position as a result, racking up 17 Inside 50s to 5 in the last quarter.

James Tarrant all but put the result beyond doubt with his second goal at the 14-minute mark to make it a 6-goal game before Ed Greene kicked his third for the Lions entering time-on.

Two late goals to Angus Symons put the icing on the cake and blew the final margin out as Old Scotch ended Collegians’ back-to-back dream with a convincing 44-point win.

FINAL SCORE:                 Old Scotch 12.14 (86)                 d.             Collegians 6.6 (42)

Mark Gnatt (Old Scotch): “The game was set up off the back of a very solid team defensive effort. It was a strong breeze and to keep Collegians goalless in the first quarter and to outscore them in that term was an outstanding performance.

“Our defensive numbers and ability to win the ball at the source or post-clearance enabled us to set up our attacking chains. It was a really even spread across the ground and it will give us great confidence coming into the Prelim Final this week.”

Jordie McKenzie (Collegians): “Unfortunately we had a sluggish start. From there, it was very much a high-pressured arm wrestle. We were able to stay in the contest through to early in the last quarter, but eventually Scotch went out to an unassailable lead.

“Scotch beat us in most facets of the game, in particular with their contest game, and were deserving winners on the day.

“Scott Beilby and Jasper Davy capped off very good years with another stellar game down back. Jim Bazzani and Nathan Boucher showed their class throughout the day. Will Dean and Max Pinchbeck were lionhearted as always. Lukic and Greene were also able to pose some headaches for Scotch up forward, with three goals each.

“It was a disappointing finish to the year, but I’m very proud of the growth in our young group in what has been a season that has thrown us many challenges.”

2^nd SEMI-FINAL: OLD BRIGHTON vs ST KEVIN’S

Given the two home & away meetings between Old Brighton and St Kevin’s had been decided by two points and one point, everyone was expecting another last-gasp thriller as the Tonners & SKOB met on neutral ground at Elsternwick Park to decide who would get the express pass to Grand Final Day.

SKOB had the first significant win of the day, calling correctly at the coin toss to kick with the wind in the opening term.

But it was the Tonners who started the better, with Jamie Hope slotting the first two goals of the game before SKOB’s inside dominance started to turn the contest their way.

Billy Coates’ ruck dominance regularly handed the SKOB’s mids first possession, and they gleefully turned that into territorial dominance, piling on a whopping 21 inside 50s to 6 for the quarter.

Patty Kerr and Cam Hodges were causing headaches for the Tonners’ defence, booting 2 goals apiece in the opening term as St Kevin’s opened up a handy 23-point quarter-time advantage, which felt about right given the 4-goal breeze at their back.

QTR TIME:          Old Brighton 2.1 (13)                    St Kevin’s 5.6 (36)

Now it was the Tonners’ turn to try and capitalise with the wind but, once again, it was SKOB’s inside dominance that was setting the tone and forced Old Brighton to ratchet up their pressure and intercept game to win the football back.

Fortunately for the minor premiers, they managed to do so effectively, racking up more than double the Pressure Acts of SKOB in the second term, including an impressive 27 tackles as they battled to make the most of their turn with the breeze.

In the end, they managed to generate 13 Inside 50s to 7 for what turned out to be a scrappy, hard-fought quarter – much to the benefit of St Kevin’s as the Tonners were restricted to just 1.3 with the breeze as SKOB booted 1.2 of their own.

So it was very much advantage St Kevin’s as they headed to the major break with a very handy 22-point lead.

HALF TIME:       Old Brighton 3.4 (22)                    St Kevin’s 6.8 (44)

SKOB now had the golden opportunity to press home their advantage with a wind-assisted third quarter and effectively put the game out of the Tonners’ reach.

However, Marcel Bruin’s men had other ideas and for the first time all afternoon, it was Old Brighton getting on top around the stoppages. They flipped the stats on their head in the third term, winning Contested Possessions, Ground Ball Gets, Hard Ball Gets and Clearances to loosen SKOB’s grip on the game.

Despite having the breeze, St Kevin’s could only generate 14 Inside 50s to 13 for the quarter and failed to make the most of their opportunities, kicking 1.4 and leaving the door ajar for an Old Brighton comeback.

The Tonners then turned the game on its head with 3 goals in 7 minutes deep into time-on that completely shifted the complexion of the contest.

The margin – which had extended out to 23 points in favour of SKOB – was suddenly reduced to just one straight kick at the last change and saw the Tonners heading to the huddle full of energy and belief, while St Kevin’s knew they had an enormous fight on their hands to hang on into the breeze in the last quarter.

3-QUARTER TIME:        Old Brighton 7.6 (48)                    St Kevin’s 7.12 (54)

The last quarter was as tense, tight and hard fought as William Buck Premier Men’s footy can get, with neither team able to find the middle in the first 9 minutes.

SKOB’s belief soared with the opening goal of the last quarter to extend their lead back out to 11 points before Nick Pavlou stepped up with a goal at the 18-minute mark to draw the margin within a kick entering time-on.

St Kevin’s defended magnificently, repeatedly absorbing wave after wave of Tonners’ attack and they managed to successfully hold their line for another 9 minutes until Ben Pryor levelled the scores with a goal at the 27-minute mark.

This thrilling contest looked to be headed for extra time as the Elsternwick Park crowd rode every bump, tackle and smother.

Finally, the deadlock was broken when Tonners’ ruckman Sam Flockart—who had battled so hard against Billy Coates all day—contested a ball-up in the left forward pocket and started charging towards goal.

The ball bobbled in the air, and he hauled it in, bending it across his right boot for a magnificent game-winning snap goal that saw Old Brighton progress straight through to the William Buck Premier Men’s Grand Final after one of the greatest Second Semi-Finals you could ever hope to witness.

Unbridled delight for the Brighton faithful, who stormed the field in jubilation. Frustration for the SKOBs, who will regroup and set themselves for a Preliminary Final showdown with the Cardinals.

FINAL SCORE:                 Old Brighton 10.7 (67)     d.      St Kevin’s 8.13 (61)

Marcel Bruin (Old Brighton): “We started really well, kicking two early goals before SKevs owned stoppages and territory. They made the most of opportunities inside 50 and defended really strongly.

“Second half, we made a couple of changes and our mids were more effective at the contest so we could get a little more effective ball outside. Once we shifted the ball a lot better, we could generate good entries and get scoring opportunities.

“Last quarter was a massive grind, and again, SKevs were so effective at limiting our entries or forcing us into shots outside 50.

“It was a huge relief to get that final score via Sam Flockart, who had worked incredibly hard all day. We had lots of contributors, Nic Pavlou was super, Jordy Segar had a massive workrate and Fraser Gregson helped shift momentum for our mids when he went inside.”

Anthony Lynch (St Kevin’s): “I thought it was an incredibly hard-fought contest; yet again, both teams had periods of momentum, and ultimately Brighton took their chances to secure the points.

“I thought the third quarter clearly cost us the game. Giving up that many goals with the advantage of the wind was going to make the final quarter against it a real challenge.

“All credit to Marcel and Brighton. They executed in more big moments and showed why they have been the number-one team all year.

“Our guys never gave up, and I’m proud of them for that. But we must play 120 minutes of footy in the biggest games of the year if you want to be successful.”

 

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WILLIAM BUCK PREMIER MEN’S PRELIMINARY FINAL:    

ST KEVIN’S vs OLD SCOTCH

SATURDAY 2.30pm (Elsternwick Park)

LIVE STREAM – KOMMUNITY TV

RADIO COVERAGE – SEN app, SEN.com.au & VAFA.com.au