Old Brighton survive SBMT scare in chaotic Round 12

The Holmesglen Under 19 Premier Men’s competition had its closest round of action yet, with multiple underdogs falling oh-so-close to unbelievable upset wins.

St Bedes/Mentone Tigers was one of those teams who fell short of the unthinkable, nearly toppling undefeated Old Brighton as the bottom-placed side.

The Tigers were out to prove they should not be taken lightly despite what their ladder position suggests, and will rue wayward goalkicking after the final result.

SBMT failed to register a goal from four scoring shots in the opening term, but the Tonners were just as inefficient, kicking 1.3 for the quarter.

Both clubs hit their straps in the second, recording four goals and two behinds each, with a narrow five-point buffer to the Tonners at the main break.

Old Brighton clamped down on defence following the halftime rest, restricting St Bedes/Mentone to just two behinds, establishing a game-high 16-point advantage.

However, the Tigers were not going to roll over just yet, roaring back to life in a dominant fourth quarter. SBMT wrestled their way back into the contest with another four-goal term, but two straight kicks for goal by the Tonners were enough for Old Brighton to claim their 12^th consecutive victory this season.

It was nearly the unimaginable, improbable upset of the season, but now the Tigers sit precariously in relegation zone, and would need to win all final six games, with a lot of results in their favour, to play finals football.

De La Salle on the other hand remain the competition’s current best shot of outsiders vying for a spot inside finals calculations after a 23-point win over Caulfield Grammarians.

A clinical first half by De La set up a handy 20-point advantage, leaving the Fields to play catch-up footy for the majority of the contest.

“A slow start is what let us down,” Caulfield coach Cooper Rule said.

“Credit to De La’s running game which we weren’t able to stop especially in the first half.”

Rule said he was “proud of the response” his players delivered however, with the Fields drawing the margin back within three goals on a couple of occasions in the second half, however the lead ultimately remained comfortably in De La’s grasp until the final siren as Caulfield lamented some forward 50 inefficiency.

Rule praised midfielder Jude Fountain, who was once again named best on for Caulfield this week.

“He has shown over the last month why he’s one of the premier players in the competition. Dominant in the midfield and was able to push forward and kick two goals.”

Joshua Murray top scored for De La Salle with three, as Ethan MacBeth was named best afield for the victors.

Old Scotch has survived a second-half surge from Old Xaverians, holding on despite nearly relinquishing a substantial halftime buffer.

The Cardinals stuffed the scoresheet in the opening half of the contest, scoring ten times in the first quarter before sharpening up in front of goal to add six majors in the second term, resulting in a 10.7 (67) scoreline at the main break.

The Xavs, however, were not being thrashed as much as their 40-point deficit suggested, with an inaccurate 3.9 (27) indicating a turn in goalkicking form could see the red and black spark to back to life.

That is exactly what occurred in the third term, albeit most of the praise should go to Old Xaverians’ defensive efforts. The Xavs restrained Scotch to just seven points in the third quarter all while scoring 28 themselves, bridging the gap to a gettable 21-point buffer.

The surge continued in the final term, with three goals and four behinds scored by the Xavs, but that was only enough to surpass the Cardinals’ three-quarter-time score, with Scotch tallying a further two goals to salvage a 13-point win.

Across to JJ Holland Park, a nasty leg break to University Blues’ Duke Bermingham saw the clash with St Kevin’s abandoned in the third quarter.

Occurring ten minutes after halftime, the gruesome injury led to an ambulance needing to be called, and with it over 30 minutes away, both clubs agreed to abandon the contest and place priority in the welfare of Bermingham.

The scores at the time of the injury were 4.5 (29) to 7.16 (58) in SKOBS’ favour, meaning St Kevin’s will claim the premiership points.

It is the second time an incident like this has occurred in the Holmesglen Under 19 Premier Men’s competition this season, with a Round 3 leg break to Old Brighton’s Max Lorden seeing St Kevin’s on the opposite end of an abandoned result, with the Tonners leading that game by six points in the fourth quarter before play paused.

Uni Blues coach Steve Boakes was full of praise for how St Kevin’s handled the situation.

“The support we got from the SKOBS support staff and parents was amazing, especially the physio who supported his (Bermingham) leg until the ambulance arrived,” Boakes said.

“Their players also showed a lot of humility and care.”

Bermingham underwent surgery on Sunday, set to rule the bright youngster out of the Blues side for the remainder of the season.

University’s attention now turns to another top-four clash with Old Brighton in Round 13, with a loss leaving their position inside finals equations in jeopardy. De La Salle, who are just a game and percentage behind the Blues, play the last-placed Tigers, but will be wary of the valiant effort they produced this past round.

St Kevin’s will look to continue their form against Old Xaverians, while Caulfield are aiming to produce a second upset over Old Scotch this weekend, after handing the Cardinals their first loss in Round 7.