Blues blow by Bloods to bounce out of relegation zone

An exciting Round 14 of William Buck Premier Men’s has set the table for a blockbuster Round 15. Here’s the weekend in review.

University Blues were the headline act, handing Old Haileybury back-to-back losses and lifting themselves out of the drop zone with a hard-fought 12-point win at Princes Park.

Last week on the VAFA’s FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME podcast, we described this game as a potential ‘banana peel’ for the Bloods, and it proved to be just that, as the Blues stormed home with 4 goals to 1 to secure a stirring victory that has changed the relegation race landscape.

The Bloods led narrowly at the first three breaks (by 8, 7 and 9 points), but pleasingly for Blues’ coach Matt Smith, the final term proved to be his team’s strongest after a series of heartbreaking last-gasp losses and draws throughout the season.

This week, the Blues refused to go quietly into the night. They booted a couple of important goals late in the third term after slipping 21 points down, then showed further resilience after Ziggy Nosiara booted the first goal of the final term to put the Bloods 15 points up again.

But from there, it was all Blues – they clawed back a couple of goals to level things up entering time-on, then hit the front at the 21-minute mark before another major 5 minutes later sealed their best win of the season to date.

This crucial victory lifts the Blues out of the relegation zone by half a game, which is especially important given their tricky run home against Old Scotch, Uni Blacks, and the top two teams, Old Xavs and Old Brighton. 

But the Blues can now attack that challenging final month with the confidence of having just knocked off a Top 4 contender, while the Bloods have some soul-searching to do after back-to-back losses leave them clinging to fourth on percentage alone.

Matt Smith (Uni Blues): “Incredibly proud of the response from what was arguably our worst performance of the year the week before.

“In a really tight contest for most of the game, our ability to control the entire final quarter and take their game away from them was the difference.

“As the pressure and intensity picked up, seemingly so did our skillset, and we finally saw some reward for effort.

“Pleasing to be on the right side of a close one, finally.”

Daniel Ward (Old Haileybury): “It was a disappointing loss for our group for the second week in a row.

“I thought we were a lot better around the contest but didn’t take our opportunities early. We got out to 21 points in front in the third quarter, but the Blues kicked a couple late to stay in the game.

“Full credit to Blues that when the game was on the line in the last term, they dominated territory and wanted and deserved the victory more.

There are no easy games in A-Grade as we look to improve next week vs De La, who have been very good lately.”

The thriller of the day was at TH King Oval as St Kevin’s desperately held on against a plucky Collegians determined to pull off an upset of their own.

The Lions were sharp early and led by a kick at the first change, courtesy of two opening quarter goals to Max Pinchbeck, and when Alex Lukic booted 2 goals in the first 5 minutes of the second term, the margin grew to 18 points, and it was clear SKOB were going to be in for a real fight.

Anthony Lynch’s men responded with 3 of the next 4 goals to get back within 3 points, before Collegians answered with two in a minute midway through time-on to head to the major break with a 14-point lead.

The early stages of the third term belonged to the hosts, who booted 4 goals in the first 15 minutes to hit the front and open a 10-point gap. But just as the Lions looked to be fading, Lukic slotted his third and Jordie McKenzie’s team stabilised the situation to remain within 4 points at the last break.

The final term was a rollercoaster, with the first goal taking 22 minutes when Patty Kerr pulled down a contested mark in the goalsquare, and when Vincent Adduci added another immediately after Billy Coates burst out of the centre bounce, the margin was out to a comfortable 15 points midway through time-on.

But the Lions still weren’t done, and they responded with a goal from the subsequent centre bounce, with Dylan Thomas pouncing on a disputed ball to snap truly. And when Will D’Amico was held and goaled from the top of the square, it was suddenly back to a 3-point game at the 28-minute mark.

The final two minutes were suitably tense. Collegians rushed a behind with 30 seconds left to play, but SKOB managed to turn over the long launch in the middle and ran down the remaining seconds for a vital win that kicks them a game (and percentage clear) in third.

While it was a heartbreaker for the Lions, who slip back into the drop zone, half a game behind the Blues, and facing a massive Round 15 clash against the Snowdogs at the Snake Pit.

Anthony Lynch (St Kevin’s): “It was a frustrating day from our perspective. I thought Collegians brought real intent and urgency, and we were not able to match it in the first half.

“Our third quarter was much better, which was pleasing; however, Collegians challenged us again late, which made it a more stressful finish than we would have liked. But it was pleasing to learn some valuable lessons whilst getting the 4 points, rather than the alternative.

“Our previous 3 weeks were really strong, so we will need to return to that form in the coming weeks if we want to challenge the better teams.”

Jordie McKenzie (Collegians): “It was a tight and tough contest all day, and for the bulk of it, we were able to bring solid pressure and generate scores from turnover.

“We had a lapse early in the third quarter where SKOB capitalised with 4 goals. We fought right through to the end and kicked the last 2 goals, but just fell short. It was a strong effort from our young side, but disappointing not to get the result.

“We debuted another 2 boys in Jimmy Archer and AJ Mackay, who both showed some great signs.”

Old Xaverians landed a savage blow to Old Scotch’s premiership defence with a comprehensive victory at Toorak Park.

It was another opening quarter blitz from the league leaders, who conceded the opening goal, but then booted 6 of the next 7 as they converted 14 Inside 50s into 10 scores to lead by 25 points at the first change – Tex Wanganeen, Charlie Knott & Hayden Woodhouse all with 2 first quarter goals.

The Cardinals got on top in the contest during the second term and squared up the Inside 50 count – 2 goals to 1 narrowly reduced the half-time gap to 20 points in favour of Xavs.

The home team then put the foot down early in the third quarter, and 3 goals in 8 minutes saw their lead blow out to 38 points. The two teams exchanged goals in a quick and entertaining burst of footy, but Xavs had the last say with the final three majors of the quarter to lead by 50 at the last break.

Scoring dried up in the final quarter, with Angus Jones booting the only goal of the quarter for Scotch as Xavs posted their 8^th straight victory to remain atop the table with a 45-point win.

It’s a bitter blow for the reigning premiers, who now find themselves two games plus 10 per cent behind Old Haileybury in fourth.

They face must-win games against the Blues and Snowdogs over the next fortnight, followed by chances to knock over the two teams immediately above them (Blacks and Bloods) in what could turn out to be a nail-biting final fortnight.

Dan Donati (Old Xavs): “Never an easy task playing against the Cardinals, so to get another win against them was obviously pleasing.

“The game was played at a high pace for the first three quarters in particular, with both sides moving the ball really well from inside to outside.

“We managed to get ourselves a good lead and were able to hold off Old Scotch in the last quarter as they continued to press and ask questions.”

Mark Gnatt (Old Scotch): “Well, there is no doubt that Xavs are the benchmark of the competition and the team to beat in September. Their ability to transition the ball forward with efficiency is well-drilled, and they are able to generate momentum very quickly.

“We showed a lot of fight and courage to keep battling away after going down to two on the bench by quarter time. We actually won the second and fourth quarters on the scoreboard and finished -2 overall in Inside 50s.

“However, Xavs punished us on turnover in the other quarters, and this was the difference. Charlie Cormack was outstanding in his first game back for a few weeks, and he was well supported in defence by Jack Brown. There is still a lot of footy to be played, and we look forward to taking on Uni Blues this weekend.”

Meanwhile, the primary challenger to Xavs’ minor premiership chances – last year’s minor premiers Old Brighton – made a statement of their own, with a thumping win over St Bernard’s at Brighton Beach Oval.

The Tonners didn’t have it all their own way, as the Snowdogs enjoyed the better of the inside battle early to lead by 2 points at the first break.

The home team grabbed the initiative with 2 goals to begin the second term before the Snowdogs responded with a couple of their own to close back within a kick, before goals to Jamie Hope & Ben Pryor gave Old Brighton a 19-point half-time advantage.

Luke Di Lizio was held in the goalsquare in the opening seconds of the third term to make it a 13-point game, but it was all Tonners from there. They took control of the contest, dominating clearances and ground balls to drive the ball forward repeatedly. 20 Inside 50s to 6 told the story of the term as Old Brighton booted 4 of the next 5 goals to skip away to a 43-point lead at the last change.

The final quarter was a statement from the Tonners, who, despite being shaded on the inside battle by the hard-working Dogs, finished with ruthless efficiency, converting 13 Inside 50s into 6.5 to rocket away to a 71-point win that closes the percentage gap between the top two teams (who meet this coming week) to less than 8 percent.

Marcel Bruin (Old Brighton): “Conditions were elite and the game was played at a fast pace, bouncing between the arcs quickly and regularly.

“Bernard’s were really effective from stoppage and put a lot of pressure on when they didn’t have the ball, while we set out to try and shift the ball quickly to provide our forwards with opportunities.

“As the game wore on, we were able to get some good looks from quick ball movement with some of our forwards capitalising well.

“We had a couple more debutants yesterday in Josh Carr and Sam Litis, who competed really well, and whilst we had strong even contributions, we also had some standouts from Louis Butler down back, Will Lewis up forward and Kai Dimattina and Finn Campigli through the mids.”

Steve Alessio (St Bernard’s): “After a competitive first half, we weren’t able to sustain the pressure at the contest, and Old Brighton were able to get their ball movement going, which really pressured us in that second half.

“We have to quickly re-focus and meet the challenge ahead of us in this last month of footy. It’s going to be a rollercoaster ride for many clubs – including ours – with injury, the return of overseas players and the availability of VFL players at the backend of the home and away season.”

The final game of the weekend saw University Blacks take another step towards finals footy with a hard-fought 37-point win over De La Salle at Melbourne Uni.

The Blacks booted the only 2 goals of the opening term to lead by 18 points, before De La hit back with a couple of their own to hit the front in a low-scoring grind midway through the second quarter.

But that sparked Blacks into action, and they kicked 3 unanswered goals to hit the major break with a handy 22-point lead after skipper Campbell Moorfield booted his second goal right on the half-time siren.

However, De La weren’t done and they rallied superbly, booting 4 goals in 11 minutes to close the gap back to just 2 points at the 17-minute mark as they threatened to snatch the lead.

But Dale Bower’s Blacks dug in once again, finding the only 2 goals of time-on via Max Dow and Fred Valpied (right on the buzzer) to edge back out to a handy 14-point lead at the last huddle.

When Matthew Grocott snapped a magnificent goal in the opening seconds of the final term, the Blacks regained some breathing room. They broke the game open shortly after when they rammed on 4 goals in 7 minutes to effectively bank four precious premiership points – defender-cum-forward Campbell Moorfield voted SKINS Player of the Day for his influential 4-goal performance.

That win draws Blacks level with Old Haileybury in the race for fourth spot and they will head to TH King for a huge clash with St Kevin’s having won 7 of their last 9 matches to be well and truly in the hunt for their first top-flight finals appearance since 2016.

Dale Bower (Uni Blacks): “De La Salle have improved immensely since the last time we played them.

“We struggled to get the game on our terms for a large portion of the day. We found a bit late and were able to put some score on the board. Full credit to De La Salle, who put great pressure around the footy.”

Nick Hyland (De La Salle): “Sloppy start for us, failing to execute the method we wanted. We did well to wrestle momentum back and get the game on our terms in the second and third quarters.

“We squandered chances going Inside 50, which meant we didn’t get the full reward for our all our effort, while conceding goals on the half-time and three-quarter time sirens were costly.

“Unfortunately, we ran out of legs in the final quarter. Being two rotations down midway through the second term, then losing another player early in the last, meant our boys were out on their feet. Like last week, I’m proud of the spirit which our boys played with.”

WILLIAM BUCK PREMIER MEN’S – ROUND 14

SATURDAY AUGUST 9 – 2pm:

De La Salle               vs             Old Haileybury             KommunityTV double-header – 11.35am  

St Bernard’s             vs             Collegians                     VAFA.com.au & SEN app – 1.45pm

Old Brighton             vs             Old Xaverians               VAFA.com.au LIVE STREAM – 1.55pm

University Blues       vs             Old Scotch                    VAFA.com.au LIVE STREAM – 1.55pm

St Kevin’s                  vs             University Blacks